Paris Basketball Game Delayed by Security Alert Over Package
By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) - Police closed off the Adidas Arena ahead of a Euroleague basketball game between Paris and Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday because of a suspicious package outside the stadium.
A police officer told Reuters that no one was allowed inside the security perimeter while a dog was sent in to sniff a food delivery package that had been left on a bike.
The package was destroyed on site and spectators were allowed inside the security perimeter after half an hour.
“There was nothing in there,” a police officer told Reuters. “It was a preventive measure."
The Euroleague Round 22 match was already classified as high-risk by the French National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism (DNLH), part of the Ministry of the Interior, due to security concerns linked to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Israel and Hamas on Wednesday agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
