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Paris Police to Deploy Drones for World Cup Match Surveillance

July 9, 2026Pablo Navarro1 мин

Parisian police are preparing to utilize drones to monitor the streets in anticipation of potential disturbances surrounding the upcoming France-Morocco World Cup match. The quarter-final, scheduled for Thursday, July 9th, at 10 PM CEST (9 PM BST) at Boston Stadium, is expected to draw significant attention and potentially lead to public gatherings and unrest in the French capital, regardless of the outcome.

Previous World Cup matches, particularly the 2022 semi-final between France and Morocco, resulted in widespread disturbances across France, with 266 arrests nationwide, including 167 in Paris. French authorities are implementing measures to minimize incidents and riots, especially in Paris, a city with a large Moroccan diaspora of over 250,000 residents.

According to reports from Le Parisien, police will be empowered to deploy drones for aerial surveillance. These drones will be used to observe public spaces, identify potential incidents more rapidly, and pinpoint individuals causing trouble. The Paris police prefecture has also extended a ban on fireworks in the immediate suburbs of Paris, originally for July 14th, through July 20th. This extension covers the day after the World Cup final, given France's strong potential to reach the final match.

Further preventative measures include the closure of several metro stations to deter spontaneous gatherings on the Champs-Élysées. These precautions are informed by recent events, such as the celebrations following Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League victory in May, which led to nearly a thousand arrests, over 200 injuries (primarily among police officers), and one fatality. Similar incidents occurred the year prior.