NFL Cancels Steelers House Fan Event in Paris's Bastille District, Says Sunday Game at Stade de France Still On

Since French protests over living costs and school conditions turned violent earlier this month, the NFL has held that its Paris game is on. The first visible casualty arrived today, Thursday, Oct. 22: the Steelers House fan event planned for a bar in the Bastille neighborhood has been canceled.

The game itself, set for Sunday at Stade de France between the Steelers and Saints, has not been touched.

What the league said

The statement shared with fans was short.

"Following recent events in the Bastille neighborhood, and after careful consideration, we felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers House fan event in Paris," it read.

It added that preparations for Sunday's game "continue as planned, with the NFL working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters." Fans were pointed to the NFL OnePass app for other events during the week.

The Steelers described the cancellation as precautionary. They told the Associated Press there had been no disruptions at league sites and that Bastille is "an area that has experienced recent disruptions."

A league spokesman wrote Wednesday that the NFL's security and events team, the same group that runs the Super Bowl, is staging the game, and that "there's been no disruption or impact at league sites."

Where the game stands

The Saints arrived in France after beating the Giants on Sunday. The Steelers landed Thursday.

NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly told reporters after the owners' meetings Tuesday that moving the game was never on the table. The league relocated a Rams game in January 2025 because of the Southern California wildfires. This time, he said, "we have never been close to that point."

"We've always got contingency plans for every game, every single one of them," O'Reilly said. "But no, we were not at that point at any point in the conversation."

O'Reilly said league officials, including chief security officer Cathy Lanier, a former Washington, D.C., police chief, have been in Paris for several days overseeing operations.

Brett Gosper, the NFL's head of Europe and Asia-Pacific, told Sky Sports on Tuesday: "We're not seeing our events being disrupted at this point in time and we certainly don't feel the game will be disrupted. So we're all systems go."

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday his comfort level is "very high." He said he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in regular contact with French officials and is keeping the league informed of potential security threats. "Protests are not unusual in France, as you know," Goodell said, "and that's something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made."

The situation on the ground

The unrest began in early October over the cost of living and deteriorating conditions in schools. French officials say it has produced thousands of arrests. The French government estimated 550,000 people took part in demonstrations last Saturday, and a curfew remains in effect in parts of Paris.

Many protests have been peaceful. Others have turned violent, with masked looters clashing with riot police.

In one episode, the mayor of Saint-Denis, the suburb that hosts Stade de France, stood between police officers and protesters.

President Emmanuel Macron has promised that those who attacked prefectures, shops and town halls "will be prosecuted and punished," and voiced the Nation's support for police.

Not everyone is comfortable

The league's confidence is not universal inside the sport. Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker described the scenes in France as "crazy." Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said this week that some of his family members were undecided about making the trip.

Dani Watt, wife of Steelers star T.J. Watt, has made clear she thinks the game should be called off, according to a report from The Comeback.

The league's own wording leaves a narrow gap between the two positions. It says its sites have not been disrupted, yet it has pulled an official fan gathering because of what happened in a neighborhood where it had planned to put a crowd.

What to watch

The Steelers House cancellation shows the league will drop events when the street picture changes, even as it holds firm on the game. Whether it cancels anything else before Sunday depends on what happens in Paris over the next three days.

Kickoff at Stade de France is set for Sunday, Oct. 25.