The President of France, Emmanuel Macronprotocol was changed in the final of the French Cup played this Saturday because of the fear of protests called by the unions against the pension reform.
The final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, ended Toulouse’s victory over Nantes with a resounding 1-5 in front of 80,000 spectators.
The unions distributed red cardboard with the inscription “red card to retire at 64 years” and whistles to be used in minute 49, referring to the article of the Constitution in which the Government took to approve the controversial pension reform without a vote from the National Assembly, where he does not have the required majority.
In some cases, the cards were confiscated at the entrance to the stadium, but in others ticket workers allowed them to enter.
Red cards in the 49th minute
Finally, in the 49th minute, there were a few red cards and a few whistles in the stands, few, far from the general fury the unions craved.
But the fear of protests changed a good part of the protocol of the final to avoid a large public protest against Macron before the television cameras.
The president broke with tradition by not stepping onto the pitch to personally congratulate each member of the finalist team, which he did on the way out of their respective locker rooms as the presidents introduced the players.
Macron did not go down on the grass
“Good final”, “good game”, Macron told the footballers as he shook hands as they filed through the tunnel onto the pitch.
And, at the end of the match, Macron did not go down the pitch to deliver the cup to the captain of Toulouse, the Belgian Brecht Dejaegere, but did it from the box, between the stands, with his wife, Brigitte.
These changes allowed the president not to expose himself alone to the public.
Union protests and the distribution of cards and whistles around the stadium were banned on Friday by the Paris prefecture, but were finally allowed by a judge after an appeal by the unions.
Great police deployment
The match was played between a large special police deployment, with 3,000 police and 1,400 members of private security, to prevent incidents between the two fans, which kept the rivalry intense.
About twenty detainees
Police announced the arrest of 21 people for carrying flares or for stealing from fans gathering at the stadium.
The authorities do not want problems after all the security problems of the last Champions League final at the same stadium eleven months ago, which could not be attributed to Real Madrid or Liverpool fans.
Above all, the authorities want to show that high-risk events can be organized in this stadium before the Rugby World Cup in September/October -whose main matches will be in Paris- and, in particular, Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
