PARIS: Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital on Saturday after Paris St. Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party.
On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed up and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water canons to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard.

There were also clashes with police on the Paris ring road and at least two cars were torched near PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium.

Inside the stadium, transformed into a giant fan zone for the night, 48,000 people let out a roar of ecstasy at the final whistle in Munich.
“Total euphoria, crazy atmosphere,” said Gilles Gailliot who had been watching the game in the Paris stadium. “It made up for the wait and the years of disappointment. Finally Paris and its supporters have been rewarded,” Gailliot added.

Parisians set off fireworks and hung out of moving cars waving PSG scarves, delighting in their side’s first victory in European soccer’s top competition.
Nearby, the Eiffel Tower lit up in PSG’s blue and red colors.
“I couldn’t dream of a better night,” said 18-year-old Amine. “Let’s spare a thought for Mbappe.”
France striker Kylian Mbappe left PSG for Spanish club Real Madrid last year in pursuit of Champions League glory.

Arrests
Some 5,400 police were deployed across Paris in anticipation of raucous celebrations.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau urged a zero-tolerance approach to maintaining order amid the celebrations.
“True PSG supporters are enjoying their team’s magnificent match. Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke the police,” the minister tweeted.
Police had made more than 130 arrests by shortly after midnight.

PSG playmaker Ousmane Dembele urged supporters to keep the party festive.
“Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris,” Dembele told Canal+.
French President Emmanuel Macron, an ardent supporter of Olympique de Marseille, tweeted: “A glorious day for PSG! Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”
Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday. The team are also expected to parade down the Champs Elysees.
PSG lost the final to Bayern Munich in 2020 and had teetered on the brink of elimination in the league phase this season before claiming the trophy their deep-pocketed Qatari owners had craved.
On the streets, fans lauded the exploits of Desire Doue, who scored twice, and manager Luis Enrique.
“What (Doue) did tonight is crazy but it is all thanks to Luis Enrique. The guy came and he changed everything,” supporter Francis Delert said.

MUNICH, Germany: Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time in their history as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter Milan on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever and teenager Desire Doue scored twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory.
Achraf Hakimi, playing against his former club, gave PSG an early lead and Doue went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled their advantage in the 20th minute.
Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu made it five.

Inter were simply no match for the French club, who recorded the biggest victory by any team in the final in the 70-year history of the European Cup and Champions League.
“This means everything. It’s my dream, it’s our dream. It’s incredible. The result is not by magic. I’m happy we did it like this, we’re now going to celebrate,” said Portuguese midfielder Vitinha, who was one of PSG’s creative sparks.
The triumph for the Parisians comes after more than a decade of huge investment from their Qatari owners, and five years after they lost to Bayern Munich in their only previous final appearance.
Already French league and cup double winners, they are remarkably just the second ever French winners of European football’s biggest prize — Marseille were the first in 1993, when they beat AC Milan in a final also played in Munich.
It is also a second Champions League for PSG coach Luis Enrique, who won with Lionel Messi’s Barcelona a decade ago.
This youthful PSG side is the best the competition has seen since, one that has been intelligently pieced together over the last two years and fully unleashed this season following the departure of Kylian Mbappe.
Indeed the star on the night was teenager Doue, who delivered a masterclass just before he turns 20 on Tuesday.
For Inter, there was to be no first Champions League title since 2010 as they failed to add to their three previous triumphs in the competition.
Simone Inzaghi’s side have now got to the final twice in three seasons and lost both, and this defeat comes a week after they missed out on the Serie A title to Napoli.
They end the campaign trophyless, and their aging side will need to be rebuilt.

Taking no chances
PSG gave their opponents no chance from the off on a sweaty night at the Allianz Arena, and they were ahead in the 12th minute.
It was a glorious goal, Vitinha threading a pass to Doue who squared for Hakimi to finish into an empty net, before refusing to celebrate against his former club.
It was also the earliest goal in a Champions League final since 2019, and recent history was already firmly against Inter.
The last final in which both teams scored was in 2018, while the last team to concede the first goal but still win were Real Madrid in 2014.
But soon Inter were further behind with a goal that came on a counterattack.
Willian Pacho prevented Inter from winning a corner, his clearance falling to Kvaratskhelia, who released Ousmane Dembele. His pass found Doue, and the youngster who was preferred in the starting line-up to Bradley Barcola fired past Yann Sommer, via a deflection off Federico Dimarco.

Inter only really came close to scoring in the first half when Marcus Thuram headed just wide at a corner, but things got worse after the break.
The night for Inzaghi’s side was summed up by defender Yann Bisseck, who came on for Benjamin Pavard early in the second half but limped off less than 10 minutes later.
Their back line was at sixes and sevens as PSG made it 3-0 on 63 minutes, Dembele’s flick releasing Vitinha before the little Portuguese playmaker set up Doue to beat Sommer at his near post.
Doue came off shortly after to rapturous applause, but his teammates were far from done.
Dembele sent Kvaratskhelia away to to make it 4-0 in the 73rd minute, and the 19-year-old Mayulu then played a one-two with Barcola before lashing in the fifth on 86 minutes.
That rounded off an incredible night, with PSG becoming the first team to score five goals in the final since Benfica in 1962.