France is celebrating their national football team’s victory over Morocco in the FIFA World Cup 2022 semifinal. During the celebrations in Montpellier, a 14-year-old was run over by a vehicle. In the French capital, policemen were hit by fireworks released by jubilant Parisians.
Following the death of the teenager, Montpellier government released a statement that read, “A young boy was violently hit on Wednesday evening in Montpellier by a car following the semi-final match of the World Cup. He was transferred to hospital in an absolute emergency. He died shortly after receiving medical care.”
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There have also been incidents of riots in Brussells, where riot cops had to be deployed in both Paris and Belgium’s capital Brussels during celebrations.
France won the second semifinal of the World Cup with a scoreline of 2-0 and brought an end to the dream run of Morocco in the tournament, who became the only African team in WC history to qualify for the semi-finals. The two goals of the match were scored by Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani.
However, soon after France’s victory, riots ensued in many French cities between the supporters of the two countries, and even spread to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where rioters burned objects on streets.
According to a report published in Le Parisien, 115 people were arrested in Paris alone. In Montpellier, video footage released by onlookers and news publications show that people had come out on the streets with rocks, and some even hurled chairs at police officers.
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The semifinal between France and Morocco also has a lot of historical context. The northwestern African nation had been a colony of France after the Algeciras Conference in 1906. Earlier, in 1844, the Franco-Moroccan War had taken place between the two sides. Morocco became an independent state in 1956.
