MOSCOW, July 14 (Reuters) - France have shut out all the euphoria back home over their run to the World Cup final in order to play a perfect match against Croatia on Sunday, France captain Hugo Lloris said.

The goalkeeper said the team were not being swept up by the wave of celebrations back home and were keeping their focus firmly on their shot of earning a second World Cup title after 1998 when they take on the Croatians in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

"To be honest we are in our little bubble and we don't know what is happening in France," Lloris told reporters on Saturday.

"We are far from thinking that we have reached our goal. We will face a high-quality opponent and they deserve as much credit as we do.

"They have displayed their physical and mental strengths and tomorrow we will need a great French team to win."

France have never needed to go beyond 90 minutes in their run to the final after beating Argentina in the round of 16, Uruguay in the last eight and Belgium in the semi-finals.

But Croatia had to battle from a goal down in all three of their knockout matches to beat Denmark, Russia and England.

They played extra time in all of them and needed penalties against the Danes and hosts Russia.

"Croatia have shown their mental strength which is quite incredible. They have managed to qualify after extra time three times in a row. There is something special in this team," Lloris warned.

"They also have an incredible collective strength. We have a lot of respect for them. We need to perform at a high level and deliver a perfect match to win," said the keeper.

France are in their third World Cup final after winning in 1998 and losing to Italy in 2006. They also reached the Euro final on home soil two years ago only to lose to Portugal.

Lloris said that defeat was not on their minds any longer, with many current players not part of the 2016 team.

"I think that our team is quite calm. I do not really know if we realise how far we have come but it is better that way," Lloris said. "We have this inner strength from the beginning of the tournament with which we can overcome any challenge."

"Tomorrow will be the most important match of our career. It will be a special match because it is a World Cup final and we have to stay in our bubble to focus on the ultimate goal." (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Clare Fallon)</s>July 16 (UPI) -- A least two people have died in France amid celebrations that turned violent following the country's second World Cup soccer title, authorities said.

Fans poured into Paris streets Monday to celebrate after France defeated Croatia, 4-2, to win the World Cup in Moscow. It was France's second World Cup, following their victory in 1998.

Thousands gathered on Paris' Champs Elysees, dancing and singing, but the celebrations began to turn violent by midnight.

A group of about 30 people, some covering their faces, broke shop windows along the famed street, where one store was looted of its wine and champagne.

Some rioters threw bottles and chairs at police, who'd responded with tear gas and water cannons.

In Annecy in southeast France, a man died of a broken neck as he jumped into a canal at the end of the game.

In Saint-Felix, a fan crashed his car into a tree and died while celebrating the triumph, officials said.

About 4,000 police officers were deployed across Paris Sunday in anticipation of celebrations, and officials in other parts of the country also prepared for possible trouble.

Clashes between police and dozens of fans broke out in Lyon at an outdoor watch party. Ten people were arrested in Marseilles and two security officers were injured in clashes with police. In Frouard, officials said two children were seriously injured when they were hit by a passing motorcycle during celebrations.</s>Two fans have reportedly died during celebrations in France after the country won the 2018 FIFA World Cup by beating Croatia 4-2 in the final.

On Sunday France secured its second World Cup championship title at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, 20 years after winning its first World Cup on home soil in 1998. Fans across the country immediately took to the streets to celebrate their national team’s victory.

The nation celebrated through the night. The celebrations, however, were marred by the deaths of two fans and violence, which erupted in Paris late on Sunday.</s>At least two people lost their lives Sunday in France during celebrations for the country's World Cup 2018 win over Croatia.

According to daily Le Parisien, two people died and 45 police officers were slightly injured during celebrations on Sunday following the French victory in the World Cup.

According to local media, one man died by jumping into a shallow canal in the eastern city of Annecy. Another died in the northern Oise department after he crashed his car into a tree.

Certain acts of violence were also reported in several cities after France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final to win the tournament, said Le Parisien.

A total of 292 people were taken into custody across France following countrywide celebrations for France's World Cup championship according to French daily Le Figaro citing the Interior Ministry.

France's second world football championship was enthusiastically celebrated after they defeated Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.

The last World Cup Final with at least three goals was 20 years ago, in 1998 at the Stade de France, when France beat Brazil 3-0 to win their first ever World Cup title.</s>Your opinions matter to us times;

Feedback 0 / 5</s>So there we have it. Vive la France! France are world champions once more, and who can say they don’t deserve to be so? Well, about four million Croatians for a start – you can understand that – but Didier Deschamps’ side has played some terrific football over the past four weeks, boasted one of the tournament’s most exciting breakout stars and, crucially, not lost a single game while posting six wins, including victories over heavyweight nations such as Uruguay, Belgium, , Argentina and, of course, Croatia.

Naturally, France is a country losing its collective merde over the result at the Luzhniki Stadium, a theme we’ll focus on first up today, with reports of mad celebrations from Paris to Perpignan and beyond, some of which involve the police, sadly.

But it’s not just French who are celebrating today – it is also a day on which jaded Guardian livebloggers can finally rejoice the end of the tournament, as this is indeed the last daily World Cup blog for four years. Get your fill while you can. It also means that it’s a pretty good opportunity to reflect of what a wonderful tournament this has been, so please do feel free to get in touch on email (mike.hytner@theguardian.com) or Twitter (@mike_hytner) or below the line throughout the course of the day/evening/whatever it is where you are.</s>The French football team will stage a World Cup victory parade in an open-top bus down Paris’s Champs-Élysées on Monday afternoon before a reception with the president, Emmanuel Macron, as commentators said the frenzied football celebrations marked a new kind of patriotism.

About 1 million supporters gathered on the Champs-Élysées after the match on Sunday night, watching the Arc de Triomphe lit up in red, white and blue with the players’ names and towns projected on to it.

All through the night, cars sped around Paris with people leaning out of windows, sitting on bonnets, lying on car-roofs or hanging out of car boots to a cacophony of car-horns. Motorbikes zig-zagged around the streets with passengers carrying flags. In Marseille people jumped into the water of the old port.

More than 19 million people in mainland France watched the match on TV with hundreds of thousands gathered in fan-zones and outside bars across the country. At the Carillon bar in Paris’s 10th arrondissement, where nine people were killed by gunmen in the 2015 terrorist attacks , hundreds gathered.

But there were disturbances and riot police fired teargas when a small number of men stoned and broke into the Publicis Drugstore shop on the Champs-Élysée, with police later clearing the area with water-cannon. On Monday morning, Publicis Drugstore was clearing up smashed windows and a pillaged shop floor. The interior ministry said there had been 292 arrests across France overnight following the World Cup victory.

Two died in the celebrations. In Annecy a man in his 50s died after jumping into a shallow canal and in the Oise, northern France, a man celebrating in his car was killed after he hit a tree. Three children aged between three and six were also seriously injured after a man celebrating on motorbike hit them in Frouard in the north-east.

The French team will land in Paris at about 4pm (3pm Irish time), with the Paris victory parade beginning an hour later.

Mr Macron, who has recently dipped in polls due to his image as “president of the rich”, will host the team at the presidential palace after long celebrations in Moscow where he was pictured punching the air, hugging the players on the pitch, then addressing them in their dressing room after the match.

He told them: “Kids, a big thank you, you allowed us to dream ... .You have made 60 million French people dream, and children everywhere. You’ll see that tomorrow when you come home and I host you.”

It is not clear whether Mr Macron will see his approval ratings rise amid the celebrations. When France last won the world cup 20 years ago in 1998, the unpopular right wing president Jacques Chirac saw a boost in the polls.

Sports minister Laura Flessel told French radio that the victory allowed young French people in the suburbs – where some key players such as Kylian Mbappé grew up – “to dare to believe in their dreams”. – Guardian</s>French President Emmanuel Macron (L) arrives on a command car next to Chief of the Defence Staff French Army, General Francois Lecointre during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, France, July 14, 2018. Bastille Day, the National Day of France, is held annually on July 14 to commemorate the storming of the Bastille fortress in 1789.</s>World Cup victory celebrations in France took a tragic turn after at least two citizens were killed and three children were hurt in connection with the frenzied festivities, while clashes broke out between Paris revelers and riot police.

In the city of Annecy, police said a 50-year-old man fatally broke his neck after leaping into a canal around the time the final whistle blew in France’s 4-2 win over Croatia, while a man in his 30s was killed in Saint-Felix after crashing his vehicle into a tree during celebrations, according to The Local.

A 3-year-old boy and two 6-year-old girls also were reportedly seriously injured in Frouard after being hit by a motorcyclist, who then fled the scene.

In Paris, television broadcasts and social media videos showed crowds clashing with cops along the French capital’s Champs Elysees.

One video from the AFP showed shirtless, masked partiers tossing objects at police as clouds of tear gas filled the area. The Local, citing an AFP journalist on the scene, said dozens of youths smashed windows at a drugstore and made off with bottles of wine and champagne.

"That's not how you celebrate," the website quoted a bystander as saying.

Other videos showed a car being flipped over before its rear bumper was ripped off.

There was no immediate word on arrests.</s>Paul Pogba led the celebrations in his own unique style after France secured their second World Cup with victory over Croatia.

Pogba was among the goal-scorers in a 4-2 win for Les Blues in Moscow on Sunday.

The former Juventus midfielder immediately took to social media to show off the World Cup trophy while celebrating with his team-mates in the French dressing room.

Pogba even sang 'It's coming home!', a line from Baddiel and Skinner's Three Lions, before apologising to his English followers on social media.

French celebrations continued in the post-match press conference, where head coach Didier Deschamps was drowned in champagne by his squad.

Click the video at the top of the page to watch the French celebrate their World Cup win in Russia.
Celebrations across France see two killed, 45 injured, and 292 arrested.