France Deploy Snipers For Its Friendly Match Against Russia

In what can be described as a precautionary measure to stamp out terrorism from the to-be-played game of football, France has decided that snipers will be deployed to boost security at Stade de France when their senior national team takes on Russia in an international friendly on Tuesday.

This is coming after the dastardly attack on Paris last November when France were playing Germany at the stadium, with explosions and sporadic gunshots taking place near the ground as part of a string of venues targeted in events that killed 130 people.

Deputy head of the Paris headquarters for public order and road traffic Laurent Simonin confirmed there will be snipers and specialist security teams on sight for Les Blues’s first match back at Stade de France since the attacks.

“The snipers will be placed around the stadium,” Simonin said to BFM-TV.

“Also, an elite unit of the French national police will be on guard during the match and will be available to intervene in the stadium or at the vicinity.

“The security features for the match are similar to what was implemented for all three games of the Six Nations Rugby with simply an extra supplementary security device.

There have also been calls for this summer’s European championship in France to be held behind closed doors amid growing security concerns, but the French Football Federation (FFF) and Uefa have dismissed such fears.

Source: Goal