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.