Paris Threatens to Revoke Residency Permits of Fans Celebrating Their Teams’ Victories

In a significant development, French authorities threatened to revoke the residency permits of foreigners who disrupt public order while celebrating their national team’s victory in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, currently being held in Morocco.

They have also decided to ban gatherings of fans on the Champs-Élysées, the largest and most famous street in Paris, in anticipation of the start of the quarter-finals of the competition.

These directives came from French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who instructed prefects to “strictly enforce existing instructions regarding the removal, reduction, and/or revocation of residence permits for foreigners who disrupt public order,” according to a directive obtained by BFMTV on Friday, January 9, 2026.

The French minister did not mention the Algerian national team’s fans, but the directive itself gave the impression that it was aimed at Algerian fans, who are accustomed to holding peaceful celebrations when the national team achieves victories, as happened last Tuesday. Local officials have also alleged that some Algerian fans incited hatred and anti-Semitism.

Laurent Nunez, according to the same source, said: “Across the country, spontaneous gatherings are regularly observed in public spaces, reflecting the collective enthusiasm surrounding this tournament. However, these gatherings have sometimes led to excesses, particularly following Algeria’s victory in the round of 16 on January 6, 2026,” indicating that the directive is related to the celebrations held by Algerians last week.

In the same context, the Paris police department decided to ban gatherings of fans on the Champs-Élysées in the heart of Paris throughout the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final matches, starting at 3:00 PM. This prohibits gatherings of individuals claiming to be fans of the participating football teams in the Africa Cup of Nations within a designated area, based on instructions from the French Interior Ministry.

During the celebrations of the Algerian national team’s victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo last Tuesday, the prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region alleged that “hate speech, incitement to violence, and anti-Semitic remarks” were made by several individuals in Lyon on Tuesday, following Algeria’s victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Interior Minister also instructed prefects to mobilise all security forces under their jurisdiction to prevent any potential unrest during the matches. He emphasised the need to mobilise all “services under their authority” to prevent “any recurrence of such disturbances to public order during the quarter-final matches, as well as the semi-final matches scheduled for January 14, 2026.”

The decision issued by the French Interior Minister was well received by the far-right National Rally party, which, anticipating the start of the African Cup of Nations 2025, called on the French government to take what it described as “the necessary measures” to confront the celebrations of Algerians over the victory of their national team. This came in a written question addressed to the Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, who responded to the parliamentary question with an instruction to the prefects, threatening to withdraw the residence permits of members of the Algerian community celebrating the victory of their national team.