Ligue 1 reschedules games amid public protests on Saturday

Representative Image: The Professional Football League (LFP) made the decision upon request from government officials. | Photo Credit: AFP

The French football league is moving scheduled games from Saturday at the request of public authorities amid weekend protests across the country.

Lyon’s home game against Angers in Ligue 1 will now be played on Sunday afternoon instead of 8:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, the Professional Football League (LFP) said Tuesday in a statement citing a request from local government officials.

Ligue 1 games to be hosted Saturday by Nice and Lorient have also been changed to, respectively, Friday evening and Monday evening, the league said.

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in marches across France last Saturday to protest rising living costs and poor conditions in schools, adding to demands on police and security forces.

France’s worst civil unrest for years has also seen city halls and public buildings attacked.