Paris was supposed to be the NFL’s big global party. Instead, the league’s first regular-season game in France is arriving amid riots. Steelers owner Art Rooney II touched down in the city on Thursday, and he did not sound rattled.
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Rooney, less than six hours removed from an overnight flight from New York, spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac about the mood around Sunday’s game.
“They don’t seem to be concerned about it,” Rooney said. “I mean, it’s definitely heightened security, and they’re staying in touch with all the security people over here. The security people over here think everything is going to be fine.
“The whole city has extra security here at this point. I don’t know exactly what the extra measures are being taken for us. I just came past the Arc de Triomphe, and police cars were sort of ringing the whole thing.”
France’s unrest has been building for a month now. What began as student protests has grown into a wider backlash against the government.
More than 550,000 people took part in demonstrations Saturday, angry about the squeeze on household budgets, inflation, school conditions and government spending cuts. Though many protesters marched peacefully, some also clashed with police, set cars ablaze and attacked public buildings. A historic town hall was also burned down.
There were some 2,400 arrests over the weekend and thousands of businesses were damaged or looted. France has since announced nightly curfews in Paris and other cities for as long as necessary. That is the world the Steelers and Saints are walking into.
Then came the cancellation. On Thursday, the Steelers called off Steelers House, a fan gathering planned at a bar in the Bastille neighborhood. The area has seen disruptions, while the team described the cancelation as a precaution.
“Following recent events in the Bastille neighborhood, and after careful consideration, we felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers House fan event in Paris.
“Preparations for Sunday’s NFL Paris game at Stade de France continue as planned,” the team message added, “with the NFL working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters.”
Nicki Ewell, the NFL’s vice president for global events, said the club made that call. She added that no other NFL fan events have been affected. The league has been vocal about its own plan too. Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, international and league events, said at Tuesday’s Fall League Meeting that officials are working with French authorities and the U.S. State Department.
O’Reilly said relocating the game was never on the table. He cited PSG’s Champions League meeting with Barcelona that Tuesday as another major event taking place in Paris. The NFL had also sent its security chief, Cathy Lanier, to France to monitor preparations firsthand.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the plans, and his comfort level is very high. He also leaned on how familiar France is with this kind of unrest.
“We’ve made all the preparations,” Goodell said. “We’ve been in touch with the appropriate authorities. Protests are not unusual in France, as you know. And that’s something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made.”
Still, plans on paper only tell part of the story. The people actually boarding the planes have their own view.
What the Steelers Players Have Been Told
Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz gave the clearest look at what the locker room heard. The team sat through an NFL security meeting, which he figured every club holds before overseas trips, and the message was blunt. Riots are happening, but they are not a threat in the area where the team will be.
“We had an NFL security meeting. Which, I’m sure every team when you travel overseas, you have a meeting,” Kuntz said on his podcast. “Basically, they told us that, ‘Yeah, there’s riots going on. This is why they’re rioting. It’s not a threat in our area. We have tripled the security now. Everything’s gonna be fine. Your families are gonna be safe.’ So, they’ve advised us that it’s gonna be safe.”
Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward said the NFL feels comfortable sending the team over, pointing to the league’s financial interest as the reason the game was never going to move. Heyward also has a simple plan for staying out of trouble once the team lands.
“NFL does feel comfortable in sending us over. That’s the trust we have to believe in. Hopefully we’re not going into a firestorm, but for us, we have to be smart about what we’re doing out there. No traveling alone. Make sure we stay in groups and don’t wander off too far.”
Kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris. Pittsburgh arrives off a 26-19 overtime win over Tampa Bay. For now, everyone is just hoping the football ends up being the headline.