France erupted in scenes of jubilation as Paris St.-Germain became the first French team in 32 years to win the Champions League, Europe’s most coveted club soccer trophy, but the joy descended into violence that left two people dead and more than 200 injured.
The Interior Ministry said Sunday that a car crashed into a young man driving a scooter in Paris, killing him, and a 17-year-old man was stabbed to death as supporters rejoiced in Dax, a town in southwestern France. It was not immediately clear if the stabbing was linked to the celebrations over P.S.G.’s victory on Saturday night.
In Grenoble, a city in southeastern France, a car plowed inadvertently into a crowd of celebrants, seriously injuring four people from the same family, the police said. The driver fled before handing himself over to the authorities.
In all, the Interior Ministry said 22 security personnel and seven firefighters were injured, in addition to 192 injuries among people thronging the streets. One policeman sustained a serious eye injury in Normandy and was placed in an artificial coma. The ministry added that 320 people had been detained — 254 of them in Paris — and said 692 fires were recorded across France, including 264 burned vehicles.
A human tide flooded into the streets of Paris immediately after a young P.S.G. team demolished an aging Inter Milan club, 5-0, in its first victory in the tournament. The score was the most overwhelming in any final of the competition. Standing on scooters, leaning out of cars, honking, singing and shouting, fans gave full voice to their elation as the Eiffel Tower twinkled red, white and blue.
It was a cathartic moment for a France in a state of political paralysis and widespread discontent, and one the country had awaited for a long time. With its flowing, electric style of play, its teenage stars, its creative brilliance and its players reflecting a diverse French society, P.S.G. has become an inspiration, particularly to French youth.
If the celebrations were a welcome release, they also turned ugly. Many stores on the famed Champs-Élysées in Paris were ransacked. The window of the Chanel store was smashed, the Foot Locker was pillaged and several cafes were ransacked before the police cordoned off a wide area.
A large celebration with the triumphant P.S.G. team is planned on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday afternoon, before the players are expected to meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
“A glorious day for P.S.G.!” Mr. Macron said in a statement after the match. “We are all proud and Paris is the capital of Europe tonight.”
The P.S.G. victory came after the departure to Real Madrid last year of its iconic star, Kylian Mbappé, and the earlier departure of two other star players, Lionel Messi of Argentina and the Brazilian forward Neymar. If their exits looked ominous for P.S.G., they proved in the end to be the key to the team’s success, turning what had been a group of sometimes sulky and unmanageable celebrities into a cohesive unit of infectious and indomitable resilience.
Mbappé, posting on Instagram stories, said “the great day has finally arrived. It’s a victory in the style of the entire club. Congratulations P.S.G.!”
The remake of P.S.G., under the guidance of Luis Enrique, a Spanish coach who in two years has seen his status transformed from contested to near godlike, has contributed to the veneration of the team in France, where it is seen as an example of collective spirit.
Amelia Nierenberg contributed reporting from London.
Roger Cohen is the Paris Bureau chief for The Times, covering France and beyond. He has reported on wars in Lebanon, Bosnia and Ukraine, and between Israel and Gaza, in more than four decades as a journalist. At The Times, he has been a correspondent, foreign editor and columnist.
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