Italy apathy not security behind low-key 6 Nations start - fans

A lack of interest in France's Six Nations opener against Italy rather than security issues were behind a low-key start to the Six Nations on Saturday, fans of both sides said. Only around 50,000 tickets had been sold at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France for the tournament's opening encounter in Paris. But fans who had made the trip said it was a lack of interest in facing Italy rather than a reaction to the Paris terror attacks from last November that led to such a poor turnout. "We've never been to see Italy play in France before but we came because of what happened last year," said Carlo Interlandini, an Italy fan from Milan. His brother Rogerio added: "It's exactly for this reason that we said now was the time to go to Paris." Carlo continued: "It's because it's Italy that there are less fans, the Ireland match is sold out." French fans concurred, including Sylvere Poudray from the Vendee region. "I don't think the lack of numbers is directly related to what happened last year," he said. "It's more to do with Italy being less attractive opponents. "It's already been said, life goes on, but you can see that there's more security around the stadium." There was an extra cordon of security before getting to the immediate confines of the stadium, with bags been searched and bodies patted down. Queues at the various entrances were also longer than usual despite the lesser number of fans. Hundreds of police, equipped with sniffer dogs and with explosives experts on hand, were due to be in attendance. France is still in a state of emergency following the attacks across the French capital, which began when three men wearing suicide vests detonated their explosives outside the stadium as France played Germany in a football friendly. They killed themselves and a bystander and sparked panic inside the stadium in northern Paris where President Francois Hollande was hastily evacuated. With France still under repeated threats from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, authorities are determined to avoid a repetition of that night, with public transport under heavy surveillance. Gates at the stadium opened two hours before the 1425 GMT kickoff, with spectators urged to arrive early. Just as he did on November 13, Hollande was in attendance for Saturday's match. On the field, France and Italy both featured four uncapped debutants in their starting line-ups. Guy Noves is taking charge of France for his first game following four years of disappointment with Philippe Saint-Andre.