MARSEILLE // Euro 2016 kicks off at the Stade de France on Friday night, with the international football tournament marred by fears of terrorism and disruptive strikes.
France has been in a self-declared state of emergency since ISIL attacks killed 130 people in the capital on November 13 last year.
Terror suspects have been arrested in both Ukraine and Germany in the past two weeks, with at least one suspect believed to have been planning attacks in France during Euro 2016. While these arrests represented major security successes for European security forces, they also raised fears that more extremists could be planning to attack the tournament.
Meanwhile, after months of labour-related unrest across France, concerns are high that public transport and other services could be hit in the 10 cities where games are to be played.
Trade unions, who are angry at new employment laws, refused to lift strikes as severe flooding hit Paris and several other areas and have made it clear they are more likely to step up, rather than suspend, industrial action for Euro 2016.
Railway workers and Air France pilots are among many groups currently staging or planning strikes to take place during the tournament.
“I love football but our conditions of work are more important,” one train driver, Fabien Villedieu, told the France 2 television channel.
The French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche summed up the apprehensive mood of the nation with the headline: "The euros under very high tension."
On a more upbeat note, it also asked whether France’s morale – battered by terrorism, natural disaster and social turmoil – would be lifted by football as it was when the country hosted the 1998 World Cup and won it in style.
The 1990s were also marked by problems of terrorism, strikes and troubled community relations. Idealists hoped the famous “Black-Blanc-Beur” (Black-White-Arab) spirit of the racially mixed squad that beat Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final would diminish racism and promote tolerance. The star of that first French World Cup-winning team was Zinedine Zidane, born in Marseille to Algerian parents. Affectionately nicknamed “Zizou” he became an instant national hero and his image was projected on to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris with the words, “Merci Zizou”.
But according to a prominent French sports sociologist, Ludovic Lestrelin, the mood of fraternity lasted only one summer. “This team was seem as reflecting diversity, but it was a totally reconstructed, artificial proposition,” Prof Lestrelin wrote on his website.
In the run-up to the start of Euro 2016, the arrests of terror suspects in Germany and Ukraine has done nothing to calm fears.
Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said on Monday that a 25-year-old French citizen detained late last month with rocket launchers, Kalashnikovs and explosives in his vehicle had been planning attacks in France during the tournament. He had nothing to do with ISIL but was an extreme right-wing supporter intending to attack targets that included Jewish and Muslim places of worship, according to SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak.
Last week, three Syrian nationals were detained in Germany on suspicion of planning a mass casualty attack in the city of Düsseldorf.
There were conflicting reports on whether the three, along with alleged accomplices still at large, also had their sights on Euro 2016. German authorities insisted they did not but a month earlier Hans-Georg Maassen, head of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, had said: “We know that Daesh has the European Championship in its sights.”
In the face of these challenges, France has launched one of the biggest security operations in its history to ensure the event passes off without incident.
The number of soldiers on duty during the tournament will rise by 3,000 from the 10,000-strong deployment announced after last November’s attacks, but the total number of troops, police and security guards tasked with protecting the event is likely to exceed 90,000.
Supporters visiting “fan zones” – areas designated for ticketless fans who wish to be part of the occasion – in Paris and the other cities where games are being played can expect detailed searches.
“It’s important that spectators arrive as far in advance as possible,” Paris police chief Michel Cadot told the France 24 news channel.
“The fan zones and the stadiums are open in advance, far in advance for the fan zones, three hours ahead for the stadiums. So the recommendation for the public, for fans in the stadiums, or those in fan zones, is not to go to those areas at the last minute.”
Mr Cadot conceded that it was impossible to rule out any risk.
“It’s a difficult period with attacks that could hit our country anywhere,” he said. “But yes, I think today we’re as prepared as we ought to be faced with this challenge.”
French president Francois Hollande insists the threat of terrorism will not stop Euro 2016 from being successful as a “festival for people and for sport”.
France, as the tournament’s hosts, play the first game against Romania at the Stade de France, just outside Paris, on Friday night. The hope is that by the time the final is staged at the same stadium on July 10, Euro 2016 will be well on its way to being remembered for the quality of football played – not for events occurring off the pitch.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Scorebox
Dubai Sports City Eagles 7 Bahrain 88
Eagles
Try: Penalty
Bahrain
Tries: Gibson 2, Morete 2, Bishop 2, Bell 2, Behan, Fameitau, Sanson, Roberts, Bennett, Radley
Cons: Radley 4, Whittingham 5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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