The NFL is moving ahead with its first regular-season game in France, even as protests and rioting across the country have forced the league to build a heavier security plan around Steelers-Saints week in Paris.
Over the weekend, unrest in France escalated around demonstrations tied to living costs and education, and the fallout has been visible enough to raise questions around a game that is supposed to be played Sunday at Stade de France in Saint-Denis. French authorities said at least 1,800 people were arrested nationwide, including 855 in the capital region alone, with the Paris prosecutors’ office reporting that 557 of those arrested were kept in police custody.
Against that backdrop, the NFL’s message has been consistent: the game is going on.
Peter O’Reilly said there was never a point when the league believed the game could not be played in Paris. He also said, “We feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed.”
That is the balance the league is trying to strike this week. The Steelers and Saints are still headed to the field for what will be the NFL’s first game in France, but the league is doing so with heightened security and coordination with local authorities and the U.S. State Department.
The Saints are the designated home team, and if the league had decided to move the game, New Orleans would have been the obvious alternative. But the NFL did not consider relocating it, and the game remains set for Sunday at Stade de France.
The Saints have already arrived in Paris after their victory over the Giants on Sunday, and Saints executive Greg Bensel backed the league’s approach to safety and security. The league’s stance leaves the game in place, but not untouched by the unrest surrounding it.
For the NFL, this is not just another international date on the calendar. It is the league’s first regular-season game in Paris, scheduled for October 25, and it is arriving in a city and country dealing with a volatile weekend of protests, arrests, and damage in the streets. The event is still on, but the operational footprint around it is clearly larger than it would have been under calmer conditions.