Paris prepares for ‘civil war’ as 5,000 cops descend on France vs Morocco ‘battlefield’

Thousands of police officers have descended upon Paris ahead of France and Morocco’s World Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday night.

The fixture is expected to cause “civil war” in the streets of the French capital, where there is a sizeable Moroccan population living. Ten thousand French officers, including riot police, have been mobilised across the country with 5,000 of them operating in Paris alone.

It comes after desperate pleas from officials to prevent more chaos after previous matches involving Morocco at the World Cup. Jeanne d’Hauteserre, local mayor responsible for the Parisian district, even asked for the Champs-Elysees to be closed for the game.

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She told French CNews: “When you want to celebrate victory, you don’t come with mortars. But these people are really only coming to smash with iron bars.

“For Wednesday, everyone is afraid of a war, a guerrilla war, a civil war, and we do not want the Champs-Elysees to be transformed into a battlefield.”

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More than 20,000 fans are said to have spilled onto the iconic avenue after Morocco’s 1-0 win over Portugal last week. Clashes broke out between fans and police as tear gas was thrown to dispel troublemakers.

It resulted in several shops being damaged, cars being set on fire and around 100 arrests. And it is believed that France’s colonial history with Morocco is set to cause even more wild scenes due to the division among Parisian residents.

France’s population of 1.5million Moroccans were overwhelmed with joy at the surprise win over Portugal, having already overcome Canada and Belgium earlier in the tournament.

Meanwhile, 2018 champions France knocked out England in the quarter-finals to come within two wins of retaining the trophy.

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