"We could surely have done better."

Four days after the incidents that occurred during the Champions League final at the Stade de France, and in the face of controversy, government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire admitted shortcomings on Wednesday June 1.

The Head of State asked the government for "transparency, light on the facts, leads so that it does not happen again, and responsiveness", she detailed after the Council of Ministers. .

A wait that would even be "an obsession" for Emmanuel Macron, insisted the spokesperson, while calling for "keeping a little cool, even if things need to be improved". 

As the legislative elections of June 12 and 19 approach, the affair has taken a highly political turn, in particular on France's ability to organize major sporting events one year from the 2023 Rugby World Cup and two years from the Olympics. in Paris.

"Is France a great country capable of hosting major international sporting events? Yes and 4 times yes", hammered Olivia Grégoire.

The Ministers of the Interior Gérald Darmanin and of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra will find themselves "under the fire of nourished and precise questions", from the Law and Culture Commissions from 5 p.m., during an open session at the press and broadcast on the Senate website.

"What we are going to try to find out is: where are the responsibilities and where are the difficulties above all", warned the president of the law commission François-Noël Buffet (LR) on Franceinfo.

"Serious Lie" 

The controversy remains lively around the device of maintaining order on the sidelines of the most important match of the season in Europe, won by Real Madrid (1-0) against Liverpool.

The executive director of the English club Billy Hogan announced that the platform for collecting testimonials from Reds supporters set up on Monday had already received 5,000 responses in 24 hours.

"Men, women and children, able-bodied people and others less so, were treated indiscriminately during the day on Saturday," he said, saying he was "horrified" by what he read.

04:28

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Gérald Darmanin and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra have accused British supporters since Saturday evening of being largely responsible for the incidents, with "massive, industrial and organized fraud of counterfeit tickets".

However, the figures put forward by the French government remain highly criticized, in England as in France.

According to Gérald Darmanin, "30,000 to 40,000 English supporters found themselves at the Stade de France, either without a ticket or with falsified tickets".                                   

This situation has, according to the authorities, led near the Stade de France to massive congestion, overflows and an intervention by the police, which did not cause any serious injuries.

A "serious lie", denounced Marine Le Pen on Wednesday, believing that Gérald Darmanin "should himself consider that he must leave". 

"A minister who lies is bad news and does not bode well for the coming five-year term," said LFI MEP Manuel Bompard, Jean-Luc Mélenchon's right-hand man, on Franceinfo.

On the grill, Gérald Darmanin however retains "all the confidence of the President of the Republic", retorted Olivia Grégoire.

The French Football Federation defended the reinforced system put in place around the stadium. 

For the time being, the FFF and UEFA have estimated the number of "fake tickets scanned" at "2,800" on Saturday, according to sources familiar with the matter, confirming information from RMC Sports.

But among these 2,800 counterfeit tickets may include real tickets that have been incorrectly activated, according to Pierre Barthélémy, lawyer for groups of French supporters present at the stadium on Saturday.  

For their part, the intelligence services had alerted the authorities on May 25 of the presence of "about 50,000 English supporters" who "will not be ticket holders".

On the judicial level, three men, foreigners in an irregular situation, were sentenced Tuesday in immediate appearance to sentences ranging from six months in prison suspended to ten months in prison for thefts committed on supporters.

With AFP

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