Steelers beat Saints 16-10 in first NFL regular-season game in Paris, a day after protests

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 on Sunday, Oct. 25, in the NFL's first regular-season game in France, played before 78,488 fans at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. The 2:30 p.m. kickoff came a day after more than 400,000 people across the country protested over educational funding and the high cost of living, according to NBC News. The French Interior Ministry said at least 110,000 of them were in Paris. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, but some clashes led security forces to use tear gas and water cannons in several cities. Paris prosecutors said 64 people were arrested in the capital on Saturday, mostly on suspicion of weapons offenses or of joining a group preparing violence or property damage. The State Department had advised Americans traveling to the game to be cautious. The atmosphere at the stadium was described as festive and upbeat. French athletes Antoine Dupont and Teddy Riner were introduced before kickoff, and Burna Boy and Yseult performed at halftime. Saints coach Kellen Moore thanked those in France who helped stage the event.

Left-leaning outlets CBS News and NBC News focus on the visiting Americans and the security backdrop. CBS leads with thousands of fans traveling despite a State Department caution about violence and rioting. NBC leads with fans who were undeterred, quotes Saints fan Sindhu Pandit on staying informed through local news and hotel concierges, and supplies the protest figures, the tear gas and water cannons, and the arrest numbers. Right-leaning Breitbart frames the game as a festive crowd defying what it calls violent leftist riots. It leads with the score, the attendance, the venue's history, the pregame introductions, the halftime acts and Moore's comments, and it notes the police presence seemed neither heavy nor unusual. Both sides agree the game went ahead in a cheerful atmosphere a day after the protests. They differ in that the left supplies official protest and arrest data and fan voices, while the right uses more charged language about the unrest and gives few specifics about it. The Washington Times and NewsNation carry the same short wire text, and Reuters likewise describes a calm, festive atmosphere.