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.
