Just after the game kicked off at 8:45 p.m., local time, officials reported a small brawl between Israeli and French soccer fans at a top section of the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis. Some of those involved in the scuffle were wearing Israeli flags draped over their backs as they wrestled with other people in the stands.

A heavy police presence but few visiting fans are expected when France hosts Israel in Nations League soccer on Thursday, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam in connection with an Israeli team’s visit.

The atmosphere at the stadium was clearly tense on Thursday, with reports of a brief altercation between a small number of fans in the stands early in the game.