Four days after reaching the final of the 2025 Coupe de France, Paris Saint-Germain's constellation of international stars are set to wrap up a record 13th top-flight crown. Just before the game against Angers on Saturday afternoon at the Parc des Princes, protesters are expected outside the stadium to complain about a PSG sponsorship deal with the international marketing arm of the Rwandan government.
PSG's anticipated stroll to glory comes as part of the preparations for next Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final clash against Aston Villa – who sport several nicknames including 'The Villans'.
PSG diehards would consider it a crime against footballing justice were their heroes to head to the second leg in Birmingham, central England, without a healthy advantage over The Villa – one of the other sobriquets.
In February, in the last-16 of the Champions League, PSG outplayed Premier League pacesetters Liverpool, who sit a good 20 points ahead of Aston Villa in the English championship, to reach the last eight.
Donnarumma eclipses Alisson as PSG oust Liverpool in Champions League
The tie finished 1-1 on aggregate and when PSG won the penalty shoot-out, there was unanimity amongst analysts and pundits that the better side over two legs had advanced.
On Friday, PSG boss Luis Enrique urged the players to keep the focus and intensity that has brought a 27-game unbeaten streak in Ligue 1.
“Maintaining this level will help us better prepare for the final of the Coupe de France and a possible Champions League semi-final,” said the 54-year-old Spaniard.
“We will try to go undefeated all season.”
Some fans though want one run terminated with extreme prejudice. "We've been trying to talk to people from PSG for a while now," said Lionel Tambwe, who set up a petition in January with his cousin Jordan Madiande calling for an end to the "Visit Rwanda" sponsorship deal with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
The petition has garnered nearly 75,000 signatures. In the prelude to the demonstration they have organised, Tambwe and Madiande said they had been in contact with fans of Arsenal, who linked up with the RDB in May 2018. The Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich also began a five-year deal with Visit Rwanda in May 2023.
"It's not just PSG," said Tambwe, who was born in France to parents from Angola and the DRC. "These are clubs that, for me, have a history in Europe and are followed around the world," added the 34-year-old.
"I remember a time when Arsenal had the best-selling shirt in the world, but by adding "Visit Rwanda", I think it undermines everything they are trying to advocate such as peace in the world, while we know very well that there is no peace in the DRC.
'Putting humanitarian issues before football'
Human rights organisations as well as the United Nations, say they have evidence that Rwanda is actively bolstering the forces of the M23 paramilitary group in its sweep through Goma and Bukavu in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Authorities in Kigali deny providing arms and troops to the M23. They say Rwandan forces are acting in self-defence against the Congolese army and militias hostile to Rwandans, especially those from the Tutsi ethnic group.
As the denouncements and disavowals are traded, the RDB's "Visit Rwanda" logo continues to be sported on the training and pre-match warm-up kits of the PSG men's team.
Rwandan tea and coffee are served at kiosks and in the lavish hospitality suites at the PSG stadium in western Paris. Players and former stars visit the country on promotional tours as part of a deal worth an estimated €15 million per year.
"You can't possibly convince me that a club like PSG isn't aware of everything that's going on in the DRC and is yet still signed up with "Visit Rwanda". You just can't," said Tambwe.
The DRC's government says at least 7,000 people have died in the fighting since January. According to the UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA, at least 600,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since November.
"I don't think it's mixing things up on Saturday to protest and say what we're saying," said Madiande. "Even if PSG draw on Saturday, they'll be crowned champions. That's great. It's great for Paris Saint-Germain and I'm very, very happy about that.
"But that doesn't stop us from putting humanitarian issues before football. And for me, that's what we're fighting for, first and foremost."
PSG has not commented publicly on the petition. The RDB has reacted by hitting out at what it calls false accusations about its partnerships.
"It's a long-term battle, of course," said Tambwe. "But you have to realise that even the smallest change is a change. So we're going to do our utmost to bring about this small change, however small it may be. I'm not saying that PSG stopping its "Visit Rwanda" partnership will stop the war – I know that's really not the case.
"But if we can enable a few people to get involved and be on the right side of history, if I can put it that way, that's what we're going to do and we're not going to give up."
Showdown in Munich
On the pitch, Enrique's charges appear equally relentless.
He steered PSG to the domestic treble of French Super Cup, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France in his first season after replacing Christophe Galtier in July 2023.
In January, PSG beat Monaco to claim the 2025 French Super Cup. On Tuesday night at the Pierre Stade Mauroy in Lille, PSG overturned a two-goal deficit to see off second division Dunkerque 4-2 and move into the Coupe de France final.
"It wasn't easy with the two goals they scored," said Enrique of the Coupe de France semi-final. "But I think it was a test of our mentality and character. The team enjoys these challenges. We are once again in the final."
On 24 May at the Stade de France, PSG will play Ligue 1 counterparts Reims, who overcame fourth division Cannes on Wednesday night 2-1 to contest a Coupe de France final for the first time since 1977.
In that time, PSG have appeared in 20 Coupe de France finals, losing five and winning the other 15 to become the most successful of the 34 clubs to have brandished the Coupe Charles Simon since Olympique de Pantin beat FC Lyon 2-1 in May 1918.
Domestic bragging rights notwithstanding, the showdown Enrique was brought in to reach and conquer – the Champions League – comes on 31 May in Munich.
To hoist European club football's most prestigious trophy, PSG will have to destroy The Villa and then Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semi-final to advance to the final for the first time since 2020 where Inter Milan, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich could await them.
In the 2020 final, Bayern were the villains of the piece with a smash and grab exploit to run off with the crown.
