France arrest 282 over football unrest

PARIS: A total of 282 people were arrested in France after unrest following the Algerian football team’s qualification for the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, the interior ministry said Monday.

Riotous celebrations erupted across the country after Algeria beat Nigeria 2-1 in the semi-final. The arrests were made nationwide on Sunday evening, the ministry said. Out of those arrested, 249 people were placed in custody, it added.

When Algeria defeated Ivory Coast to reach the semi-finals on Thursday, fans went on the rampage in central Paris, looting shops.On the same day in the southern city of Montpellier, an Algerian football supporter celebrating his team’s win lost control of his car while travelling at high speed and ran over a family, killing a woman and seriously injuring her baby.

Paris and Marseille are home to large minority communities of Algerian origin. Football celebrations, with supporters brandishing large national flags, have on occasion been a source of tensions.