Didier Lallement admitted he was "wounded from the failure" of the Champions League final fiasco at the Stade de France as his tenure as chief of Paris police came to an end on Thursday.
The Paris police force has been heavily criticised following horrible scenes at Liverpool 's clash with Real Madrid on May 28, along with competition organisers UEFA. Lallement, 65, was among those to falsely point blame at Liverpool supporters, citing their behaviour as one of the reasons for crowd trouble ahead of the match.
Chaos outside the stadium saw many fans tear-gassed by riot police and denied entry despite having tickets to the showpiece fixture, though a report from the French Senate has since absolved Liverpool's supporters of any blame, with Lallement also backtracking and issuing an apology.
Lallement was always due to leave his post prior to his 66th birthday, but does so under a cloud as he conceded the events at the Champions League final tarnish his otherwise exemplary record during his three-and-a-half year stint. In a letter to police officers, as reported by AFP via Sky Sports, Lallement admitted: "I'm still wounded from the failure of the Stade de France.
"Certainly, that evening, we saved lives but the reputation of the country was damaged. That the French flag has been sullied is a pain for me and a responsibility that I must assume."
The report from the French Senate into the Champions League final found their were "systematic failings" in the organisation of the event, including "several flaws in the directing and management of the crowd”. The report finally exonerated all Liverpool fans who were falsely accused, after France's Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, had claimed 40,000 ticketless fans were the main reason behind the problems, suggesting a "mass fraud" had taken place.
Darmanin has been widely condemned for his comments, but praised Lallement's work as Paris police chief as he was replaced by former junior interior minister Laurent Nunez. "The President of the Republic, on my proposal, appointed Laurent Nunez Prefect of Police," Darmanin wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
"It is the choice of an experienced man who knows the Prefecture of Police perfectly and who has held many national responsibilities. The safety of Ile-de-France residents will be our priority. I would like to pay tribute to Didier Lallement for his actions, in difficult conditions, in a context of significant terrorist threat, at the head of the Prefecture of Police over the past three years. He is a credit to the Republic."
Liverpool set up a support system for fans who had been traumatised by the events at the match, as well as to give them a chance to voice their version of what happened to be submitted to the French Senate's inquiry, as some were attacked outside the ground and left with injuries, while others were forced into dangerous crushes. Speaking last month following the conclusion of the investigation, Senate inquiry co-chairman Laurent Lafon said: "Liverpool supporters wanting to support their team are not responsible for what happened.
"The number of people around the stadium did not cause all the chaos. We know these fans travel en masse, that was foreseen. Every authority was acting on their own without co-operating, and that means nobody really felt they were responsible for anything.
"This was a chain of administrative errors. It is clear that the arguments put forward by the minister of the interior Gérald Darmanin, including that there was a massive ticket forgery, are not the cause of the problems at this match. We present our apologies and our condolences Liverpool and Real Madrid fans. They are victims of what happened."
