It’s 6:55 p.m. on this Saturday. Five minutes before the kick-off of the Ligue 2 match between Paris FC and SC Bastia, there is a very long line extending to the Charléty stadium tram stop. This situation highlights two points: the habit of Parisian fans arriving rather late and the lack of ticket booths at the Charléty stadium, making it difficult to organize matches with more than the usual 4,000 attendees.
This Saturday, Paris FC launched its free admission campaign, a global first, which will continue until the end of the season. The club had announced that the capacity had been reached and there would be no more tickets available. The capacity, which had been set at around 8,000 spectators for the match against the Corsican club, will be adjustable depending on the event, in consultation with the Police Prefecture.
The Charléty stadium took some time to fill up. Before kick-off, it was the 1,100 Bastia supporters who created the atmosphere. Some even burned the protective netting installed since April. Outside, many ticketless spectators were seen wanting to enter.
Among those who had reserved their seats on the Paris FC website, many were attending Charléty for the first time, like Mathieu, 40, who lives in the XIIIth arrondissement. “I live near the stadium, I like football, but I didn’t follow Ligue 2 much. I came because it was free. I think Paris FC made a strong gesture that revives popular football. It will bring some animation to this stadium that lacked it. I wouldn’t be surprised if people who can no longer afford to go to the Parc des Princes turn away from PSG for the PFC. I will definitely come back.”
Among the regulars at Charléty, there was also praise for the initiative. “It will attract more people, so it’s very positive,” said Elaïd, 70, who has been supporting PFC since 2015. “It’s also good to think about less fortunate people who can now come as a family. I had bought my season ticket this year. But we will be refunded.”
During the match, the cheers of the Bastia supporters were certainly loud. But Charléty’s stands also roared with pleasure when Ilan Kebbal scored on a penalty (1-0, 45th minute). There was a little more noise than usual. The official attendance figure was 6,438 announced spectators. It’s not a deluge, but it’s already more than if the match hadn’t been free.
There is still an issue to address: the no-shows. With about 6,500 spectators, it means some (over 1,500) who had reserved their tickets did not show up.
“We are facing the same small problem as restaurants or cinemas,” acknowledges President Pierre Ferracci. “We appeal to the responsibility of citizens. We stopped reservations on Wednesday. Those who didn’t come prevented others from coming. We hope this will regulate over time. We will do a lot of marketing. The message is: If you reserve, come. Otherwise, don’t come and let us find other people. This is a job that will last the whole season. We don’t expect an exceptional increase right away.”
