Hundreds Of Arrests, Fires Occur In Paris During Champions League Celebrations

For the second year in a row Paris' top soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain FC, took home the UEFA Champions League title. And for the second year in a row, fans reacted by starting fires and getting themselves arrested.

The French soccer powerhouse defeated Premier League champion Arsenal FC after a penalty kick shootout, giving them their second straight championship in Europe's largest club soccer tournament. The game itself took place in Budapest, but fans were watching the game from virtually every corner of the French capital.

According to Reuters, in the hours since PSG claimed victory, thousands of police officers have had to be deployed in order to quell the violent celebrations that ensued. Multiple fires have been videotaped occurring, along with a ton of fights and subsequent arrests.

The outlet noted that 22,000 police officers had to be deployed in the city last year and that the violence ended in two deaths and over 200 injuries.

Shame, shame, shame

Fans watching the scenes unfold around the world have shaken their heads in frustration at the French people for allowing things to get so out of hand while celebrating.

"A small percentage of idiots always ruin it for the majority. Most PSG fans were just celebrating, but the ones looting and causing chaos need to be dealt with properly. Winning the Champions League shouldn't look like this," one user on X lamented.

"Incredible result for PSG, but the fan behavior takes away from the moment a bit," wrote another.

"PSG fans celebrating and PSG fans rioting are genuinely the same event described two different ways," a third user mocked.

Polymarket reported that there have been over 130 arrests so far.

PSG's win over Arsenal today made them champions of Europe for the second year in a row. Last year's title ended two decades of frustration where they would always reach the knockout round - even with some of the biggest stars in the sport - only to come up short in big moments.

Now they rank among the few teams in the history of the Champions League to call themselves back-to-back champions.

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 6:20 PM.