Celebrations from Paris Saint-Germain fans following their second straight Champions League title win got out of hand quickly.
Paris police deployed thousands of police officers throughout the city in an attempt to control crowds after PSG’s shootout victory over Arsenal on Saturday.
Authorities had to use tear gas while arresting over 130 people as of 11 p.m. local time at hot spots throughout the French city, The Guardian reported.
“Our responsibility is to guarantee everyone a festive celebration that is calm and fully secure,” a police spokesperson told The Guardian.
Six vehicles and two storefronts were damaged amid all of the chaos, Reuters reported.
Tensions flared outside of PSG’s Parc de Princes stadium in western Paris, where more than 40,000 fans watched the championship match on giant screens.
Dozens of fans marched near the Arc de Triomphe, with some wild fans aiming fireworks at the police who then responded with tear gas.
Smoke could be seen rising throughout multiple areas where the clashes occurred, with the main ring surrounding Paris being closed off by a crowd before police dispersed it, The Associated Press reported.
Laurent Nuñez, Minister of the Interior of France, told The Guardian that authorities had a “very robust, very solid system in place” to thwart the violence.
Some 22,000 police officers were deployed to maintain order in the French capital and avoid a repeat of last year, where two died and nearly 200 were injured because of riots following PSG’s first Champions League title victory over Inter Milan.
PSG became back-to-back European champions defeating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 tie after extra time.
“It’s incredible,” captain Marquinhos told reporters. “From the very first day of this season, the coach said it’s hard to win, and winning twice is even more difficult. So we all had to get back to work.
“That was the mentality.”
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