Videos circulating on social media and reviewed by Hespress English appear to show Moroccan supporters facing racist abuse, flag-snatching and flag desecration in the Paris area after Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada in the World Cup round of 16.
Several posts described the incidents as taking place in Aubervilliers, a commune in Seine-Saint-Denis northeast of Paris. Hespress English could not independently verify all locations, dates or the identities of the individuals seen in the footage.
French media and law enforcement authorities had not publicly confirmed the incidents by publication time.
One video appears to show a Moroccan flag being torn and trampled in a public street by individuals wearing Algerian football jerseys and carrying Algerian flags. Another clip shows a Moroccan flag being set on fire as people gather around it.
Another video recorded several individuals shouting racist chants towards 3 Moroccan women passing by with their kids.
While other videos show other men draped in Algerian flags setting the Moroccan flag on fire in the middle of public roadways, surrounded by chanting crowds that say degrading things towards Moroccans, the video also shows these crowds forcefully snatching Moroccan flags directly from the hands of supporters and from passing cars while screaming, “Viva l’Algérie.”
A separate clip shows racist abuse directed at Moroccan women walking with children. The insults include language comparing Moroccans to animals. The footage appears to show the women continuing to walk as the abuse is shouted around them.
A separate video shows a female driver wearing the Moroccan jersey targeted by a group of teenagers aggressively reaching inside her vehicle through the car windows, then opening her trunk and stealing personal belongings from her car.
The videos circulated as Moroccan communities in France celebrated the national team’s win over Canada, which sent Morocco into a World Cup quarterfinal against France. The match is expected to draw large gatherings of Moroccan supporters in French cities with major diaspora communities.
The incidents have renewed safety concerns around public celebrations before the France-Morocco quarterfinal.
France has previously faced security concerns around Morocco football celebrations. In December 2022, after the France-Morocco World Cup semifinal, 38 far-right militants were arrested in Paris on suspicion of planning violence, though the criminal procedure was later annulled and the suspects escaped prosecution.
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