Claim: The NFL says Sunday’s Saints–Steelers game at Stade de France will go ahead with “heightened” security, despite nationwide protests. 

France is currently experiencing its worst civil unrest in decades, with Paris at the center of massive nationwide protests and riots. The situation escalated significantly following massive demonstrations on October 17, 2026, which involved over 550,000 people and spiraled into widespread violence, looting, arson, and thousands of arrests across the country.

Despite the concerns, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Barcelona at the Parc des Princes in a UEFA Champions League clash on October 20, 2026, without any security incidents during the match. Now, the spotlight shifts to the NFL, as the New Orleans Saints prepare to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, on Sunday, October 25.

Ahead of the game, the NFL has indicated that “heightened” security measures will be in place for the Saints-Steelers showdown. However, is that really the case? Here’s what we found!

Our verdict: True

According to a report from Outkick on Tuesday, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, international, and league events, Peter O’Reilly, confirmed that there will indeed be “heightened” security during the game amid the civil unrest. 

“We’ve got confidence in the plans both from an ops and security standpoint,” O’Reilly said. “We have never been close to that point. As you know, we’ve always got contingency plans for every game, every single one of them. But no, we were not at that point at any point in the conversation.

“Our team’s been on the ground, security team’s been on the ground, and obviously, working in close partnership with Stade de France, which is a world-class stadium, hosted world-class events, most recently the Olympic Games. But not just on game day, all of our events we have going on we’ve got, we always have a very strong security presence, as you know, around all of those events. 

“And that presence will be heightened with local authorities making sure that there’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the team security, the fans’ security, everybody involved with this game. So extremely vigilant as we always are. As I said, confident in all of those plans as we head towards Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed confidence in the NFL’s decision to proceed with the game despite concerns over violent protests and security risks. He suggested that the league would not put players or fans in danger, saying, “This game means a lot to the NFL. If it [were] unsafe, then I’m sure we wouldn’t be here.”

However, a contrasting decision in European football has raised questions about the NFL’s approach. According to The Washington Post, Paris police requested that Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 clash against Lyon be rescheduled from Sunday, October 25, to Monday, October 26, amid concerns over planned protests and recent violent unrest in France. 

The decision is particularly notable because the NFL’s Saints–Steelers game remains scheduled for Sunday, despite requiring a substantial security deployment of its own. 

Our fact-checking source:

• Reuters, October 17, 2026. Mass protests in France spiral into worst riots in years
• Front Office Sports, October 20, 2026. NFL Says There Will be ‘Heightened’ Security at Paris Game
• Outkick, October 20, 2026. NFL VP says league is ‘vigilant’ about security for France matchup, remains confident in plans
• Al Jazeera, October 23, 2026. NFL would cancel Paris game if unsafe due to riots, Steelers’ Rodgers says
• The Washington Post, October 23, 2026. PSG’s Ligue 1 home game against Lyon is moved to Monday at the police’s request amid Paris protests