Concern over Italian fans’ visit to France after virus outbreak

Fans of Juventus were allowed to travel to Lyon for Wednesday’s Champions League tie.

Juventus supporters arrive in Lyon ahead of the Champions League contest.

French politicians have voiced concerns around fans of Italian side Juventus travelling to Lyon for Wednesday’s Champions League tie due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal, far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and National Assembly member Eric Ciotti have all expressed opposition to the decision to allow the visit of the Serie A champion to the central city.

“It seems illogical and the public don't understand,” Royal told France 2 TV .

“The government might have some information the public don’t have, but I think to avoid sparking panic we have to consider that the French public are mature, and they have the capacity to understand it,” she added.

Le Pen, who called for borders between France and Italy to be re-established, was also against the decision to allow fans of Turin-based Juventus to travel to France for the last-16 first-leg tie. “I believe it’s not reasonable to welcome them and we are once again confronted by the inconsistency of the government,” Le Pen told France Inter radio .

Ciotti, from the main opposition Republicans party, said he failed to understand why children returning to France from Italy had been put in quarantine but “3,000 people are coming from a high-risk zone.”

Le Pen: "I believe it's not reasonable to welcome [Juventus' supporters]." - AP

 

The French secretary of state for education and youth Gabriel Attal defended the decision saying “today, public health experts say it’s not necessary” to stop the arrival of the supporters. “Is the virus actively spreading in the Turin region? No,” he told broadcaster BFM .

On Wednesday, a 60-year-old man became the first French victim of the coronavirus in the country, the health ministry announced. France has reported four other new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including two people returning from Italy, bringing the total number of infections to 17.

Eleven other people have recovered from the disease which has killed more than 2,600 people worldwide and infected almost 80,000 others, mainly in China.