The mayor of Paris and the PSG are engaged in a bitter battle over the future of the Parc des Princes

Why does PSG want to buy its stadium?

The Parisian club, whose matches are systematically sold out, wants to see more than the current 48.000 seats in the stadium.

Since its acquisition by the Qatari fund QSI, it intends to compete with the very best European clubs, the majority of which own their stadium and which play in front of at least 60.000 spectators.

But for that, he will have to invest a lot of money.

Initial work completed in 2016, which made it possible to install lucrative VIP boxes, had already cost 85 million euros.

But to completely renovate and enlarge the stadium, the site would rather cost 500 million euros, estimates the club, which is not ready to hire them if the stadium does not belong to it.

Because the work would be difficult and expensive, the Park partly covering the ring road. Impossible, therefore, to dig too deep. To gain capacity, the stands would have to be tilted more, which would make it possible to approach a capacity of 60.000 seats... but hardly more.

Why is the town hall against it?

"The Parc des Princes is not for sale", decided Anne Hidalgo in an interview with Parisian on Saturday.

It is "an exceptional heritage of Parisians", assured the mayor, who had not previously closed the door to an assignment.

But the prices offered on both sides were very far apart: 40 million euros for the club, 350 million for the town hall, according to first deputy Emmanuel Grégoire.

He estimated on Tuesday that an agreement for the occupation of the public domain, a sort of very long-term lease, would be the best solution, giving "quasi-owner rights" to PSG.

The current contract, negotiated at the same time as the last works, binds the city and the club until 2043, which pays a fee of around 2 million euros a year - much less, for example, than in Marseille, according to Emmanuel Grégoire.

The work on the stadium could thus be amortized by concluding a new, very long-term agreement, he said.

What plan B?

If PSG decides to move, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the largest enclosure in the country with more than 80.000 seats, would hold the rope.

But a solution would have to be found for the many cultural events, as well as for the French football and rugby teams, who play most of their home matches there.

And the club should also negotiate a takeover, this time with the state which owns it … and find a way to break its lease with the town hall of Paris.

A new stadium?

A new stadium on the outskirts, built from scratch, would allow PSG to think much bigger. But where ?

The club is considering several hypotheses, including the Saint-Cloud racecourse to the west of Paris.

Several suburban elected officials also went there with their more or less far-fetched proposals.

MP (Renaissance) Karl Olive, a PSG fan, posted a photo montage of a new ultra-modern stadium on Twitter, seeming to suggest hosting it in his town of Poissy where PSG will open a training center.

The mayor of Joinville-le-Pont, Olivier Dosne, offered to build it... in the Bois de Vincennes. "We do not build on a natural space, which is more at the time of climate change", cut short, in a tweet, the Parisian assistant for green spaces, Christophe Najdovski.

And for such projects, "in the best case, it takes 15 years", retorted Emmanuel Grégoire, stressing that "no place offers a land reserve available with a public transport service".

What are the fans saying?

Parisian ultras are fiercely opposed to a move.

"We will fight with all our might to ensure that PSG stays at the Park," the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) promised in early December in a press release.

They said they were in favor of expanding their enclosure, which would also make tickets cheaper.