Violence in France: Ligue 1 match in Toulouse has to be rescheduled

The ongoing outbreaks of violence in France are now also affecting the French football calendar. Matches in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 are affected.

The violence on France’s streets is having wider repercussions and is now also affecting professional football. Out of concern over further riots, the Ligue 1 match between FC Toulouse and ES Troyes AC has been rescheduled. Instead of taking place on Saturday, the fixture is now set to be played late on Sunday afternoon.

According to the French Football League (LFP), the rescheduling was carried out at the request of the Haute-Garonne prefecture. A scheduling clash with a rugby match was cited as the immediate reason. The background to this is the tense security situation in the country, where violent clashes are once again feared for the coming weekend.

Toulouse, like numerous other French cities, was affected by riots last weekend. The authorities are responding with stricter measures: from Thursday to Sunday, a night-time curfew will be in force in several areas of the south-western French city.

The match between Toulouse and Troyes is already the second game in French professional football to have its date changed in connection with the violent demonstrations. Previously, the second-division clash between HSC Montpellier and Red Star Paris had already been rescheduled.

As there is as yet no end in sight to the unrest, the security situation remains a key factor for French football too. It remains to be seen whether further matches will be affected by potential riots.