French authorities have launched a large-scale security operation in Paris ahead of Thursday’s Nations League match between Israel and France.

France’s police chief said 4,000 police would be stationed in the capital and around the Stade de France stadium in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis.

Another 1,500 officers are to be deployed in public transport.

An elite police unit will guard the Israeli team and another 1,600 civilian security personnel will be on duty at the match.

On Sunday, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said authorities “will not tolerate” any violence at the match.

“There is a context, tensions that make this match a high-risk event for us,” Nunez told French news channel BFM TV.

Tighter measures after Amsterdam violence

The tough measures come after violent clashes in recent weeks when Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv played against Ajax Amsterdam.

Amsterdam police said tensions began to rise ahead of the match when Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag in the city center and vandalized a taxi.

Videos on social media, some of which have been verified, showed Israeli fans engaging in other acts of provocation, chanting “Death to the Arabs” and “Let the IDF win,” referring to the Israeli army.

Following the violence, Dutch authorities said Israeli fans were specifically targeted in “hit and run” attacks.

Footage from the night showed Israeli fans being chased and beaten on the streets of Amsterdam.

Authorities in Amsterdam moved to impose a three-day ban on pro-Palestinian protests after the clashes.

Fewer fans were expected

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Wednesday that around 13,000 spectators were expected to attend the match.

This is lower than the figure of 25,000 announced by Sports Minister Gil Averous earlier on Wednesday.

In the wake of last week’s violence, the Israeli government has advised citizens to avoid attending cultural and sporting events held abroad this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had information that pro-Palestinian groups were planning to harm Israelis in the Netherlands, Britain, France, Belgium and elsewhere.

kb/lo (AFP, AP)