The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers are due to play in the NFL’s regular-season debut in France, and the country they are headed to is coming off a Saturday of large-scale protests.
Students had been demonstrating for a month over teacher shortages and schools falling apart, and on Saturday the movement grew into a cost-of-living protest that stretched across the country, with the government saying it drew about 550,000 people and organizers estimating closer to 800,000.
Parts of the day turned violent, with officers in Paris confronting masked groups around Place de la République, looters targeting tourist areas as well as shopping districts, and a fire that was set on purpose gutting the 19th-century city hall in Limoges.
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Roughly 1,800 arrests had been made by Sunday, including 855 in the Paris region, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez put the number of injured firefighters, gendarmes and police officers at more than 500.
With President Emmanuel Macron due to speak to the country Sunday evening, the fallout has now reached the NFL, whose game is planned for Stade de France in Saint-Denis, which sits just north of Paris.
The league has now made its decision, at least for the moment: the game is staying in France. The NFL’s statement says it has no current plans to take the Saints-Steelers matchup anywhere else, and it also spells out how the league is handling the situation behind the scenes.
“We continue to work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters,” the NFL said, per Front Office Sports. “We are also providing the two clubs with regular updates. There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”
The Saints, the designated home team, have dropped four of their first five, among them a 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on a Monday night, Oct. 5, while the Steelers have won three of five.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the team will fly out of the New York area and go directly to France once Sunday’s matchup with the New York Giants ends, then stay there all week.
The Saints and the Steelers play at Stade de France on Sunday, October 25, with the game set for 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. local).
