Sports

The NFL’s first Paris game goes ahead in a city under curfew

The Saints and Steelers meet at the Stade de France on Sunday with heightened security after a week of unrest in France.

Published

1 day ago

October 21, 2026

Massih Shahbazi

The Eiffel Tower above the Champ de Mars, in black and white, beside the headline Football, in Paris

The NFL has played in London, Mexico City, Munich, Frankfurt and São Paulo. On Sunday it plays in Paris for the first time, in a city that has spent the past week under curfew.

The New Orleans Saints face the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Stade de France on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 8:30 a.m. Central time, 2:30 p.m. in Paris, in the first regular-season NFL game played in France, the Saints announced. The game goes ahead as scheduled despite civil unrest in the country, the league said, according to The Japan Times.

A city under curfew

The timing could hardly be stranger. Earlier this week, France imposed nightly curfews in parts of Paris and other cities after a weekend of cost-of-living protests turned into looting and fires, and troops were brought in to guard sensitive sites, as AIME 360 reported. Around 2,400 people were arrested over that weekend.

The NFL says it will have heightened security for the game, NBC Sports reported. “Preparations continue as scheduled for NFL events and the game at Stade de France next Sunday,” the league said, according to the coverage. Sky Sports described the game as “all systems go.”

Why Paris, why now

Follow the money and the international schedule makes sense. The NFL has spent years trying to grow beyond the United States, and Europe is its biggest target. Games abroad sell jerseys, TV deals and sponsorships in markets where American football is still a curiosity. A first game in Paris is a statement that the league sees France as one of those markets.

The Stade de France is also a fitting stage. It is France’s national stadium, home to the country’s biggest soccer and rugby matches, and it hosted events at the 2024 Olympics. Putting the NFL there signals ambition. The Washington Times described the league as eyeing a big debut, with the game arriving amid security concerns.

The Saints’ French connection

The choice of New Orleans is not random. The city was founded by the French, its oldest neighborhood is still called the French Quarter, and its culture carries centuries of French influence. A Saints game in Paris writes its own marketing copy.

The Steelers bring something else: one of the league’s most traveled fan bases, known for showing up in big numbers wherever the team plays. Both teams’ supporters are likely to make the trip, and for many, a game in Paris doubles as a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

From the stands, and the streets

For fans flying in from Louisiana or Pennsylvania, the experience will be a mix of football and sightseeing, with the unrest an uneasy backdrop. For Parisians, the game lands in a week when many are angry about rents, groceries and wages. An American sporting spectacle with premium tickets and corporate hospitality is a sharp contrast to the protests in the city’s squares.

That contrast isn’t the NFL’s fault, and the league didn’t choose the timing of the unrest. But it’s the kind of image that sticks: a fortified stadium hosting a foreign league while parts of the city are under curfew.

The football part

Lost in the logistics is the game itself. International games come with odd challenges: long flights, jet lag and unfamiliar routines for players used to precise weekly schedules. Teams usually arrive early to adjust, and coaches treat the trip as a test of discipline as much as talent.

For both clubs, a regular-season win counts the same in Paris as at home. The novelty doesn’t change the standings.

A league that keeps traveling

Paris is one more step in a long campaign. The NFL’s international series started with games in London and has spread across Europe and the Americas, with the league adding new cities as it hunts for fans. Each new market starts with a single game, and the league watches ticket sales, TV audiences and merchandise to decide whether to come back.

France is a big prize. It has a large sports audience, a growing amateur American football scene and one of the world’s most visited capitals. A sellout crowd and strong ratings on Sunday would make a return trip likely. A game overshadowed by security fears would make the league think harder.

What could change

The league says the game is on, but security situations can shift quickly. If protests escalate again over the weekend, as some have planned, authorities could add restrictions around the stadium or the city. Fans traveling to the game will want to follow official guidance closely.

Barring that, Sunday afternoon in Saint-Denis will deliver something France hasn’t seen before: an NFL regular-season game, played in a country with its own reasons to be watching the streets as closely as the field.