A 14-year-old Moroccan youth died this Wednesday following riots in Montpellier following France’s 2-0 victory over Morocco in the World Cup semi-final in Qatar, authorities said.
The young man was violently run over and rushed to hospital, but he would eventually die, Hugues Moutouh, the president of the French department of Hérault, where the city of Montpellier is located, said in a statement.
In the message released on social networks, Hugues Moutouh reports that the vehicle that hit the young Moroccan was found near the place where it all happened and has been seized, adding that the criminal investigation is “quickly progresses”.
Communiqué du prefet de l”#herault Hugues Moutouh ⤵️#Montpellier pic.twitter.com/Sc7L0jeNs7
– Prefet de l’Herault (@Prefet34) December 14, 2022
Tensions between France-Morocco fans in the center of Montpellier after the World Cup semi-final result. pic.twitter.com/voodUCRIX7
– EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 14, 2022
According to various French media, the 14-year-old teenager was of Moroccan descent and the driver of the vehicle is a fugitive.
Footage of the incident, circulating on social media, shows a driver racing hard over a group of supporters of the Maghreb national team after seeing his French flag ripped from his car.
Paris and Brussels also registered disturbances this Wednesday night, at the end of the World Cup semi-final in Qatar, which guaranteed France a place in the final of the competition, where it will meet Argentina.
In the French capital, as well as in cities such as Lyon or Bordeaux, there were disturbances at the end of the match, according to images shared on social networks by the newspaper Le Figaro, which include clashes between supporters and security forces to be. on the Champs Elysees.
The degenerate situation. Des hommes encagoulés poursuivent en courant les supporters marocains « dehors les Arabes », « on est chez nous »
les différents clans respond to the coup de mortiers d’artifice interposés @Le_Figaro #francemaroc pic.twitter.com/2xMS7zTLyyDaguin Nicolas (@DaguinNicolas) December 14, 2022
With the final whistle, the French took to the streets in Paris despite the cold to celebrate the triumph, the AFP reported, pointing to disturbances and arrests in several parts of France.
Around 10,000 security forces were deployed in France to escort supporters of the two teams. The weekend before, 170 arrests had been made, 100 of them in Paris, after the passage to the semifinals of the French and Moroccans.
At 11 p.m. (10 p.m. in Lisbon), an action by the CRS, the riot police, scattered around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, hundreds of supporters, some of whom set off pyrotechnic devices.
In Bordeaux, Victory Square was filled with the last support, where fireworks and smoke bombs were launched.
According to the municipality, there were 2,500 people in the square around 10:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. in Lisbon), with no apparent overcrowding.
In Lyon, the French celebrated their passage to the final, but “a group of far-right youths approached the supporters present in Place Bellecour”, resulting in disturbances that forced police intervention, the municipality explained, adding that six arrests were made.
Fans also threw projectiles at police, who responded with the use of tear gas, AFP reported.
There were also 14 arrests in Avignon, including eight for mortar fire, according to a police report sent to AFP.
On the other hand, there were no major incidents in Marseille and Strasbourg, with thousands of supporters celebrating the French team’s success, including singing the Marseillaise.
The center of Brussels was also the scene of disturbances this Wednesday night caused by supporters of the Moroccan national team, who threw pyrotechnic devices and smoke bombs at Belgian police, the Efe agency reported.
BREAK:
Moroccan fans are now also rioting in Brussels, Belgium.pic.twitter.com/l42NvGNloU
– Visegrad24 (@visegrad24) December 14, 2022
The police had to intervene in the center of the Belgian capital after Moroccan supporters also set fire to garbage cans and a motorcycle.
As with previous matches, where Morocco advanced in the competition, the Moroccan community set up a men’s chain to try and contain the supporters, but without success.
Protesters fired pyrotechnic devices at police, who immediately intervened with a water cannon and tear gas.
According to the Belgian media, the police have made arrests.
Last Saturday, the Belgian police in Brussels made a dozen arrests following similar disturbances that broke out after Morocco’s victory over Portugal (1-0) in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
Three days earlier, on December 7, Belgian security forces also made dozens of arrests in several cities for disturbances during the celebrations of Morocco’s victory over Spain in the round of 16.
Also on November 27, there were arrests following disturbances that caused damage to vehicles and urban infrastructure, following Morocco’s victory over Belgium.
Defending champion France ‘stamped’ this Wednesday against Morocco the ‘passport’ for a fourth final of a World Cup, becoming the first to add three appearances to the decisive game in the 21st century.
Finalist in 2006 and World Champion in 2018, the French team, also winners of the competition in 1998, sealed their presence in the 2022 final at home, beating the African team 2–0 in the second semi-final, in Al Khor, in Qatar .
In the unprecedented final on Sunday, in Lusail, Qatar, at 15:00 (in Lisbon), France will meet Argentina, who on Tuesday secured their sixth final by beating Croatia 3-0, with a goal from Messi and two from Alvarez .
Source: DN
