The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints are scheduled to play in Week 7 in Paris, France, this Sunday. The first NFL game in the French capital will be held at the Stade de France at 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. local Paris time).
Despite civil unrest in France, the league said it will proceed with the game as planned, raising concerns for all parties involved, including President Donald Trump.
“It’s looking like tomorrow’s going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it,” Trump said Friday outside the White House, via The Athletic. “I would have said the NFL could have probably postponed that match, if you want to know, because France is really in trouble.”
Paris burned last weekend as protests across France turned into the most violent riots the country has seen in decades. The protests began in mid-September with high school students decrying the state of education and have grown to include demonstrations over the cost of living and rising fuel prices. Nearly 2,400 people were arrested last weekend as rioters attacked government buildings and pillaged an estimated 3,000 businesses around the country, according to the New York Times.
Protesters are scheduled to gather again this weekend, and French authorities have implemented several precautions, including curfews, bans on gatherings in some cities, and the closure of popular tourist destinations like the Louvre. According to the New York Times, more than 70,000 police officers will be deployed around France. Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 match against Lyon was also pushed back a day.
The Steelers, who had scheduled a fan event at a bar in Bastille, were forced to cancel. In a statement, the team called it a precautionary measure.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming fans to France for the first-ever regular season NFL game, as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. Following recent events in the Bastille neighborhood, and after careful consideration, we felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers House fan event in Paris,” the Steelers said in a statement.
Hopefully, the protests remain peaceful, and everything goes off without a hitch this weekend.
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