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.

The atmosphere at the stadium was clearly tense on Thursday, with reports of a brief altercation between a small number of fans in the stands early in the game.