SPORTS UPDATE: DOZENS ARRESTED, THREE INJURED BY CAR IN PARIS AFTER PSG WIN

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Agency Report

Following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Arsenal to advance to the Champions League final, authorities in the city stated Thursday that 47 individuals had been arrested and three more had been hurt by a car.

After PSG defeated their English opponents 2-1 on Wednesday night to move on to the May 31 final and a chance at the club’s first Champions League trophy, wild celebrations broke out in Paris.

Three people were injured when a Mercedes crashed into a group of pedestrians near the capital’s iconic Champs-Elysees avenue as PSG fans celebrated, police said, adding the “circumstances… remain unclear at this stage”.

One of those injured, a minor, was in critical condition in hospital, prosecutors said.

They said they had opened an investigation for assault, fleeing the scene and failure to assist a person in danger.

Police said the driver tried to flee in the car, but was unable to get through the dense crowd of supporters.

The driver and a passenger then ran away on foot, “abandoning their car to the fury of the crowd. It was burned and completely destroyed,” police said.

Rowdy groups clashed with officers, pelting them with objects, police said.

Four vehicles were reported damaged.

AFP journalists saw two burned-out vehicles near the Champs-Elysees.

Paris had deployed more than 2,000 police and emergency workers for the match, which fell the day before a public holiday to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Thousands of fans without tickets massed outside the Parc des Princes stadium during the match.

Police intervened to restore the flow of traffic after rowdy celebrations erupted, but reported “no major incidents” outside the stadium.

In the nearby town of Fontainebleau, police said they had used tear gas to break up an unruly crowd of around 500 people.

AFP