Coupe de France: after the chaos of the Parisian night, the Lensoise party was complete at the Stade de France

The Parisian night near the Canal Saint-Martin (10th arrondissement) had left people fearing the worst. On the eve of this Coupe de France final, around a hundred Ultras from Nice, from the Sud Brigade, supported by members of groups from Lille or Nancy, ransacked a bar and committed unprecedented scenes of violence in a city center. A brawl would have pitted them against around forty members of Karsud, a group of PSG ultras, excluded from the Paris Ultra Collective (CUP) and no longer authorized to meet at the Parc des Princes. In the end, 65 people were arrested and six (including one seriously) were injured.

After these serious events, the question of security therefore inevitably arose before the final this Friday. It had already been classified as “risk” (a scale of 3 out of 5) by the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism (DNLH). A force of 2,200 police officers and gendarmes was mobilized.

Exiting in gigantic clusters from RER B and D, already five hours before the match, the Lensois supporters, yellow jerseys on their backs, did not seem too worried by the pitched battle of the night. “There is no animosity between Lensois and Niçois,” even affirms Gaëlle, 43 years old. There was even one who wanted to offer me a beer. But he hadn’t seen my husband (laughs). We feel perfectly safe in front of the Stadium. We came by train this morning. We didn’t stop singing. »

Smiling and relaxed, the stewards directed the first Lensois supporters who arrived very early towards well-defined and demarcated bars and drinks stands. “Finally, we’ll be able to drink!” », laughs a Lensois jersey flocked with Thomasson’s name on the back. As the minutes passed and the match got closer, whole waves of Lensois arrived on the stadium square. The people of Nice were a total minority. Of course, there were some invectives and insults in their direction, but nothing too bad. “We know how to manage, we have no worries, there have never been violent clashes on the Stade de France square before a Coupe France final,” the FFF explains to us.

The “Corons” raised the decibels

The Lensois continued to sing. “We’re with friends and we’re going to have a great evening,” says Laurent, 19 years old. My parents don’t like it when I leave Lens but now, they’re not worried at all. I can’t wait to experience this. » As he entered the Saint-Denis enclosure, two-thirds dressed in blood and gold, he was undoubtedly seized by a certain emotion. There were in fact 55,000 Lensois. For one evening, the Stade de France was transformed into the Bollaert annex. After Aznavour’s “Emmène moi” and “Nissa la Bella” played by the Republican Guard, the “Corons” again raised the decibels and the emotion by several levels.

A wave of happiness then took over the Stade de France when Florian Thauvin opened the scoring (26th). The 33-year-old striker sprinted towards the opposite goal to celebrate in front of the Lens corner. After Edouard’s 2nd goal (42nd), the reduction in Coulibaly’s score (45th + 3) gave even more enthusiasm to the Nice turn which always sang and made itself heard, despite the totally unbalanced forces present.

But as is the tradition at Bollaert, the second half began with the “Corons” chanted by all the Lens supporters, with their scarves brandished. They chanted the name of “Florent Thauvin” for a long time as he left just before the liberation goal signed by Sima (78th) while Nice still believed in it. The stands burst into flames. We were in Bollaert… Saint-Denis.