Saints Safety Concerns Updated for Trip to Face Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris

The New Orleans Saints have had turmoil on the football field in recent weeks as the team recently had to snap a three-game losing streak with a win over the New York Giants, 34-27.

The Saints are looking to avoid turmoil off the football field, but may need to take precautions this week. This comes after news of riots in Paris, France where the Saints get set to play an international game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Obviously, one would assume the NFL would not put the Saints or the Steelers in a position to be unsafe. So, if the game is still set to play, the league and city would have done their due diligence to keep the contest safe. Still, you can expect all parties are entering the matchup with caution.

ESPN updated the situation in Paris in regard to the riots. Here's what they added on the news.

"The NFL said security will be heightened for the game in Paris between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on Sunday after civil unrest engulfed the French capital last weekend.

Executive VP of club business, international and league events Peter O'Reilly said the league's security team has been on the ground and that officials are working closely with Parisian and national authorities.

O'Reilly said there was never a point that the game was in danger of not being played at Stade de France. Rioters clashed with police, set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and engulfed a historic city hall in flames in France's worst civil unrest in years as violence and looting swept through major cities.

About 2,400 people were arrested over the weekend, and authorities said thousands of businesses were damaged or looted. The rioting overshadowed demonstrations against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools in which hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully."

The fact that the game was never at risk of being cancelled speaks to the NFL and the city's confidence in being able to keep the situation safe. Even so, all eyes will be on the event and how things are handled as several stakeholders in the game want to see it be a success worth celebrating.

New Orleans' French heritage and history from past exploration hundreds of years ago make it a fun storyline as certainly several Louisiana natives come from French ancestry. The Saints will hope to secure a win in the country from which many of their current citizens still have ties to today.