PSG fans divided over protests in France as Barcelona game goes ahead

Champions League football game takes place amid backdrop of unrest over education issues and the cost of living.Published On 20 Oct 202620 Oct 2026Paris, France – Outside the Parc des Princes stadium, fans queued for scarves and gathered for a drink on Tuesday ahead of one of the Champions League’s marquee fixtures.Holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) host Barcelona, five-time European champions, in a league-phase match that kicked off at 9pm local time (19:00 GMT).Security checks at the gates were routine, and the police presence was modest. Across the country, however, a weeks-long student movement has brought more than half a million people onto the streets and has been met, at times, with force.Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Monday that the game would go ahead as planned, despite the unrest.“I am so happy they haven’t cancelled it. How could we miss such a match?” Paul, a 25-year-old engineer wrapped in a PSG scarf, told Al Jazeera.The protests began as a student movement demanding smaller classes, more teachers and a more equal education system. The pupils’ resentment quickly spilled out of the classrooms, widening into a nationwide movement that led to violent riots ove...