Waiting at the gates, some Israel fans wore both Israeli and French colours. Two wore a t-shirt with Israeli club side Maccabi Tel Aviv's logo on the front and the words "Ni Oubli Ni Pardon" (Never Forgive Never Forget) on the back.

After the recent violence around an Israeli team’s game in Amsterdam, French leaders insisted on proceeding under security with a France-Israel match, and on showing up, themselves.

Thousands of police officers are set to be deployed around Paris on Thursday ahead of a soccer game between France and Israel, seeking to avoid a repeat of last week's violence in Amsterdam involving locals and Israeli fans.