(JustPatriots.com)- Rioting broke out throughout France and Belgium last Wednesday as Moroccan soccer fans, angry that their team was defeated by the French in the World Cup semi-final, rampaged through cities, setting fires, destroying property, and attacking police and civilians. In one city, a 14-year-old Moroccan fan was killed.
Shocking video footage emerged on social media showing a group of Moroccan supporters marauding down Rue de la Mosson in the southern city of Montpellier when they surrounded a car in which a passenger was holding the French flag.
The group, which included the 14-year-old boy, descended on the car, trying to rip the flag away from the passenger. The panicked driver attempted to do a U-turn to get away from the mob. However, several members of the crowd were unable to get out of the way, including the 14-year-old who was dragged under the wheels, sustaining critical injuries.
The boy was transferred to a nearby hospital where he later died.
https://twitter.com/sotiridi/status/1603158883500957697
Both France and Belgium experienced significant rioting from the Moroccan team’s supporters throughout the World Cup.
In Paris alone, about 2,200 officers were set up along the Champs-Elysees with police vans and barricades.
In some places, including the Champs-Elysees, Morocco fans clashed with police, destroying cars and shop windows after their team defeated Portugal in the quarter-finals.
After Morocco fell to France in the semi-finals, in addition to Montpellier, riot police in Nice were also called in to control fighting in the streets, where fans launched flares at each other and set fire to trash cans.
In Brussels, about 100 Moroccan fans threw fireworks and other objects at lines of police in riot gear. They were quickly dispersed after police deployed tear gas.
Both France and Belgium are home to a large Moroccan community, many of whom have dual citizenship.
