Les Mags à Paris

Words: Guirec Munier

Images: Guirec Munier

When the draw for the Champions League group stage was made, I immediately spotted the face-off between Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United at the Parc des Princes.

It was the perfect opportunity to reunite with fans that I’d discovered with my own eyes on December 4, 2021 at St James’ Park. That day, in the Gallowgate End, while the temperature flirted with 0°, the passion, joviality, cordiality, simplicity and madness of the bustling Toon Army left an impression on me.

While the men led by Eddie Howe were yet to win after fifteen Premier League games, NUFC fans were fully playing their role as twelfth man, as if the Magpies were fighting for a place in the Champions League.

The warmth of this magnificent stadium, one of the most beautiful in England in my opinion, combined with my memories of the Entertainers led by David Ginola in 1995 made me promise myself to rediscover this atmosphere as soon as possible.

I was looking forward to experencing the gentle madness of the Toon Army in Paris but the plastic atmosphere of the Parc des Princes hit me with a dull thud.

It feels like a diametrically opposed way of understanding football culture , like the feeling of going from a hot bath to a cold bath without the health benefits that come with it.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Newcastle fan in Paris.

The two clubs are both owned by Gulf Arab states and Newcastle face their own challenges in relation to that but since the takeover of the Paris club by the Qataris, PSG seems like a circus but minus the laughs.

The Parisian club suffered from hooliganism and a bad reputation before their arrival, but Paris Saint-Germain embodied a certain form of authenticity.

As you approach the stadium, a DJ welcomes you, scarves and flags are distributed free of charge to the entire stand seen by the TV cameras, the stewards formally require the public to remain seated, and hundreds of tourists buy seats at a high price via the PSG resale platform but also to be seen at the Parc des Princes on their social networks.

The Geordies, known for their naturally buoyant atmosphere couldn’t get their heads round the amplified PSG Capo’s cries, chorusing in return “What the fucking hell is that!? "

PSG star Kylian Mbappé, managed to say after the match about Newcastle United: “They have nothing, we knew it was their game to have nothing”. Unlike him, in front of my TV in the first leg and at the stadium in the second leg, I saw a lively, united Magpies team that doesn’t take itself for what it’s not.

While the past of the Parc des Princes is written in the stories of fans who trod the terraces in less glamorous times, the club's historic supporters, who brought real fan culture, are seemingly becoming increasingly rare.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Newcastle flags in Paris.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

©Guirec Munier/ Terrace Edition. Paris Saint-Germain.

Guirec can be found on Instagram: @jeanprouffisonfire