PARIS (AP) — A day after more mass protests and clashes in Paris, the atmosphere was jovial and upbeat among American football fans attending the NFL’s first game in France on Sunday.
asserted
atmosphere → attend → Sunday
Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints fans mingled around the Stade de France before kickoff, with a visible but discreet police presence at the national stadium as about 76,000 fans attended the sold-out game.
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fans → mingle → game
The Steelers won 16-10 amid a festive atmosphere, including some live music and fan participation.
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Steelers → win → music
All four wore Saints tops with “The Moore Family in Paris” written on the back.
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four → wear → back
“We’re celebrating our dad’s 70th birthday, so we’re very excited to come to the first-ever NFL game in Paris,” Alicia Moore told The Associated Press outside the stadium.
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Moore → celebrate → stadium
She hopes to see more NFL games in France in the future.
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She → hop → future
“I think it’s amazing that we’re bringing our culture over here,” she said.
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she → think → culture
Security issues in France have dominated the media in recent days, but this was not weighing too much on their minds.
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this → dominate → minds
In the city, some,” said A’ndrea Moore, adding that they celebrated Billy Moore’s 70th with a nice meal in Paris, but that “the jury’s still out on the bill.”
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jury → say → bill
They arrived on Wednesday: A’ndrea and Billy coming from Mississippi; Deborah from Tennessee and Alicia from Texas.
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A’ndrea → arrive → Texas
Clint and Rachel Rushing, both decked out in matching black, gold and white Santa Claus outfits, made the trek from Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
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both → deck → Springs
“Came all this way to Paris just for a game,” Clint told the AP.
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Clint → come → AP
He joked he should be renamed “Saint-a Claus” because of his eye-catching outfit in the Saints colors, which made several fans stop and turn to take a closer look — and photo.
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fans → joke → look
“Paris has been wonderful, we’ve really enjoyed Paris,” Rachel added.
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Rachel → enjoy → Paris
“We’ve not had any issues.”
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We → have → issues
Since the stadium is north of Paris and not realistically a walkable distance from the city center, transport is required via a short train ride from Gare de Lyon, Gare du Nord or Châtelet, or by subway.
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transport → require → subway
As fans drifted out of the local train station at Saint-Denis, the mood was relaxed as they walked together under largely blue skies.
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they → drift → skies
Once they arrived at the stadium, searches were carried out, customary before any match played here.
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searches → arrive → match
A sniffer dog patrolled the area once fans were inside the stadium gates.
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fans → patrol → gates
About 70,000 officers were deployed nationwide on Saturday, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.
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officers → deploy → helicopters
Gendarmes were stationed beneath the Arc de Triomphe, while major museums like the Louvre and Grand Palais were closed.
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museums → station → Louvre
“NFL House” was shut in Paris on Saturday as the city awaited street protests and the soccer game between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon was postponed at the police’s request.
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game → shut → request
Shopkeepers boarded up windows while others opened temporarily and endured a nervous Saturday afternoon, after around 3,000 shops were damaged or looted last weekend.
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shops → board → windows
Some 550,000 people marched across France in protest against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.
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people → march → schools
France’s worst civil unrest for years saw city halls, public buildings and thousands of businesses nationwide impacted.
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halls → see → businesses
The Aporia
