PARIS — American football fans brought high energy, chants and smiles to Stade de France on Sunday to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers face the New Orleans Saints. Some said the mass protests in the city were not an issue during their weekend trip.
The NFL’s first regular-season game in France came a day after more than 400,000 people around the country took to the streets to protest educational funding and the high cost of living. At least 110,000 of those protesters were concentrated in Paris, according to the French Interior Ministry.
Although the demonstrations were largely peaceful, some clashes broke out, prompting French security forces to use tear gas and water cannons in several cities. Paris prosecutors said there were 64 arrests in the nation’s capital on Saturday, mostly for suspected weapons offenses or participation in a group preparing violence or property damage.
But American visitors in town to cheer on their teams told NBC News that everyone they’ve encountered had been welcoming.
Lifelong friends and Saints fans Sindhu Pandit, Shruti Menon and Pramod Menon said they never felt the game would be canceled. Pandit said the key to their own movements around the city was to stay informed.
“I think we were all given quite a bit of good information from the the different platforms that we were subscribed to,” Pandit said. “And as well as, you know, staying on local news as well — the concierge services at the different hotels were quite good at keeping us informed.”
Pramod Menon added that locals were “incredibly hospitable” and considerate of the fact that they were visitors. The friends said they came to support both the country and their team, a sentiment his wife shared.
“We’re so excited to be here in Paris, and what a perfect place for for New Orleans, the home of the French,” Shruti Menon said. “And so it’s wonderful to be here.”
Sean Warner, a Steelers fan since 1974, may not share the Menons’ taste in teams, but he also told NBC News that he and his wife, Saroja, were having a “wonderful” time in Paris.
“We were concerned about the riots and everything that we had heard about and read about, but quite honestly, it’s been amazing,” he said. “The experience has been fantastic. ... Paris has really tried to work hard to, you know, make people feel safe and comfortable, and then enjoy the experience.”
The Washington, D.C.-based couple, who have visited Paris several times, spent Saturday walking around the city. Saroja Warner said it was a bit sad to see some businesses with boarded-up windows, but any clashes seemed “localized.”
“We walked around Paris all day till about 6 o’clock at night ... and we didn’t see any unrest, any crazy stuff,” she said. “It just felt like a lot of folks trying to have a nice time on a rainy day in Paris.”
The Steelers beat the Saints 16-10 at France’s national stadium, just outside the heart of Paris. The game is the latest in a series of international games the NFL has scheduled in recent seasons to grow the sport outside of its domestic audience.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Wednesday that he was not concerned about the Paris protests ahead of the game and was comfortable with the security preparations the league had made in coordination with French authorities.
“Protests are not unusual in France, as you know, and that’s something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made,” Goodell said.
Figures from the Interior Ministry indicate Saturday’s demonstrations produced significantly fewer problems than those the week before. There were about 1,300 arrests nationwide, roughly half the previous week’s total. Only 53 members of the security forces reported injuries, compared with 1,144 the week before, according to the ministry.
The unrest began weeks ago, when students at a high school in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, began protesting a lack of resources and poor conditions at their school. Students at other schools in the poorer suburbs surrounding Paris soon joined, and the protests grew into a movement of students across France.
The teenagers blocked entrances to their schools and demanded that the French government invest in their educations by increasing staffing, repairing aging buildings and providing more resources to the public education system. Their protests caught the attention of many across the country who were struggling with the high cost of living.
Protest organizers agreed to the plans coordinated with the French government on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. But the ministry warned that high-risk groups, largely made up “of radical far-left and ultraleft activists,” had infiltrated demonstrations in medium- and large-sized cities. It blamed those groups for “fomenting attacks” against law enforcement, businesses and other people.
“While the level of violence from these radical elements was the same as last week, their attempted actions — which triggered systematic intervention by law enforcement in line with the clear instructions of the Minister of the Interior — were generally thwarted,” the ministry said.
Richard Engel and Marc Smith reported from Paris. Doha Madani reported from New York City.