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December 16, 2022
Morocco fans in France had been in a celebratory frenzy ever since their team went on its historic World Cup journey, becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the last four in the global showpiece event.
In some places, including the Champs-Elysees, the supporters clashed with police, destroying cars and shop windows after beating Portugal in the quarter-finals, while supporters ran riot in Brussels when their team defeated the Red Devils 2-0 in the group stage.
Supporters poured into Paris' freezing Champs-Elysees on Wednesday after a World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco which for millions tugged at the heartstrings, as 'Les Bleus' won 2-0 to reach the final for a second time in a row.
They were flanked by hundreds of police trucks securing the area as fans let off fireworks.
Deeply enmeshed by their colonial bonds and post-war flows of migrant labour from North Africa to France, the two nations share a history that has shaped their identities and their politics, and made for a sometimes edgy relationship.
France and Belgium are both home to a large Moroccan community, many of whom have dual citizenship.
Riot police are battling to maintain order as French and Moroccan football supporters clashed in cities across France and Belgium following the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Scenes from the southern French cities of Montpellier and Nice saw fans fighting in the streets, clashing with police, destroying cars and shop windows, launching flares at one another and setting fire to rubbish bins in the streets while cops brandished batons and used water cannons to quell the unrest.
In Brussels meanwhile, roughly 100 Moroccan fans gathered near Brussels South station, throwing fireworks and other objects at lines of police dressed in riot gear but dispersed quickly when tear gas was deployed.
Some 10,000 police officers in France and Belgium were gearing up for carnage on the streets tonight after Les Bleus dumped underdogs Morocco out of the World Cup. Around 2,200 officers, many of them equipped with riot gear, are stationed in Paris alone with police vans and barricades lining the Champs-Elysees.
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