Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 meeting with Olympique Lyonnais has been postponed from Sunday to Monday after police requested the change because of a wave of violent protests in Paris.
The match, which was due to take place at 8:45 pm (1945 GMT) on Sunday, will now be played at 8:30 pm on Monday.
“The LFP takes note of the police decree prohibiting the staging of the game between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday at 8:45 pm (1945 GMT) and has decided to reschedule the match for Monday at 8:30 pm,” the French league said in a statement.
Paris police are expected to deploy resources elsewhere this weekend as authorities prepare for further demonstrations in the capital and across France. The unrest follows some of the worst urban violence in years, which occurred on the margins of protests a week ago.
The disturbances began during nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living. Since then, partial curfews have been imposed in parts of Paris and other cities in an effort to prevent further violence.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that about 70,000 security personnel would be deployed across the country this weekend. He also warned that messages encouraging violence and looting were circulating on social media.
Several Paris museums, including the Louvre, have announced they will close on Saturday. Art Basel Paris, the French capital’s biggest annual art fair, will also end two days earlier than planned because of the risk of protests.
The rearranged fixture could create a scheduling problem for Paris Saint-Germain because it now falls on the same evening as the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London.
Ten Paris Saint-Germain players are among the 30 nominees for the award, including last year’s winner Ousmane Dembele.
The club faced a similar situation a year ago when it had to play on the night of the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Its match at Marseille was postponed by 24 hours after storms.
The disruption to the Ligue 1 schedule does not affect Sunday afternoon’s NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints, which is still due to begin at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT).
The fixture will be the first NFL game staged in France and is scheduled to take place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris.
Earlier this week, another French top-flight match was moved after a police request. Toulouse’s Ligue 1 game against Troyes was shifted from Saturday to Sunday.
Matches in France’s second-tier Ligue 2 have also been rescheduled this weekend at the request of police.