Steelers Gameday•Steelers News
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Despite ongoing social unrest and protests in Paris, it did not overshadow the Steelers-Saints game on Sunday. The NFL had heightened security at the game, and everything went smoothly.
“I know a lot of our team … had their families and friends here. So I know everybody really enjoyed Friday. But just with the uncertainty on Saturday, they kind of stayed close to the hotel,” Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said after his team’s 16-10 win over the Saints. “But France is a beautiful place. This is my first time here. We’d love the opportunity to someday to come back and enjoy it. My wife loves Paris. But it’s a beautiful country.”
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Friday he was confident in the NFL’s security plan for the Steelers and Saints in Paris.
“I definitely think that the NFL is alert to what’s going on. This game means a lot to the NFL. If it was unsafe, then I’m sure we wouldn’t be here,” Rodgers told reporters.
Like McCarthy, Rodgers really enjoyed playing in Paris.
“I thought the [playing] surface was good, the grass. I thought the environment was great. And just all the pomp and circumstance before, you know. … I thought the French anthem was, I thought, just so gorgeous, I mean, just really beautiful. And to hear the fans sing along, too, was a really cool moment, I thought,” Rodgers said after the game.
Oct 25, 2026; Paris, FRA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) carries the ball for 8 yards during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France. — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Steelers canceled their Steelers House fan event in Paris ahead of Sunday’s game. The fan event was set to take place in the Bastille neighborhood of Paris, which is where protests took place on Oct. 10.
Stade de France is about 6 miles north of Paris.
“We’ve made all the preparations,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “Protests are not unusual in France, as you know, and that’s something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made.”
Protests have swept across France over the last month. It started as a student-led protest, but it has grown into a broader anti-government movement.
Last Saturday, over 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets to protest high living costs, inflation, public spending cuts, and poor conditions in schools, according to Al Jazeera.
Protesters turned violent on Saturday, setting fire to historic and public buildings—including the 143-year-old town hall in Limoges, the tourism office in Lyon, and parts of Marseille’s city hall. Dozens of shops were looted and burned in cities like Paris and Bordeaux.
French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with top government officials on Sunday. France has announced nightly curfews “for as long as necessary” in specific areas of Paris and other cities.
“There’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the teams’ security, the fans’ security — everybody involved with this game,” NFL executive Peter O’Reilly said at the fall league meetings on Tuesday, via the Associated Press. “Obviously being very vigilant in everything we do, in all of our planning on an hour-by-hour basis, working closely with the two teams.”
Mentioned In This Article:Aaron Rodgers France Mike McCarthy New Orleans Saints NFL Paris Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers News