Steelers beat Saints in NFL's first France game as protests continue across the country

Mixed · 2The NFL played its first-ever game in France on Sunday 25 October 2026, with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France in Paris. 1 2 Left · 1The game went ahead despite widespread protests that weekend in cities across France; NBC News reported thousands of American fans attending amid tight security and heavily armed patrols. 2 Right · 1Fox News's OutKick described violence, looting and vandalism in Paris during the week, with anger over living costs and deteriorating public services, and said the NFL was questioned about proceeding. It reported that President Donald Trump said he was "worried about it" and that the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team postponed its Saturday match to Monday because of the unrest. 1

Right · 1According to OutKick, the NFL worked with Parisian police, French national authorities and the U.S. State Department on security, and commissioner Roger Goodell, Saints owner Gayle Benson and Steelers owner Art Rooney II met President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace to go over safety plans. 1 Right · 1Fans OutKick spoke to said the situation was less bad than expected: one had seen graffiti but nothing first-hand, another cited boarded-up or cracked shop windows, and a visitor from Mexico said he came only for the game. Some also said protesters go too far when they burn vehicles or vandalise monuments. 1 Right · 1Separately, Fox News's OutKick reported online backlash after Montreal-born singer Nina Tonji performed La Marseillaise before kick-off and changed the line "Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons" to "Qu'un sang uni abreuve nos sillons", replacing "impure" with "united". The article said she received warm applause at the stadium but that accounts such as Cerfia, RMC Sport and Francetvsport shared the performance, and that a vast majority of replies insulted it, calling it a "scandal" or "disrespectful". 3

Right · 1The author of that piece, Armando Salguero, argued the change was deliberate and political, and that the NFL should require performers to sing anthems as written; the article also stated in its own voice that at least some protesters in the past two weeks of unrest were immigrants. 3 Right · 1Five international games remain on the 2026 NFL schedule: Bengals–Falcons in Madrid in Week 9, Patriots–Lions in Munich in Week 10, and Vikings–49ers in Mexico City the following week. 1