PITTSBURGH — Following a weekend in which weekslong anti-government protests spiraled into destruction and violence around France, the prevailing feeling around the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility on Monday sounded familiar.

“Hey,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said, “we got a game on Sunday.”

Graham and others largely eschewed concern days before the Steelers travel to France to face the New Orleans Saints in the NFL’s first ever regular-season game in Paris.

“The team is excited about playing over there,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “... We feel like we have a really good plan. We’re aware of what the situation is over there but have a lot of confidence in the plan.”

The game will be played in the country’s largest stadium — Stade de France, which sits north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. The demonstrations have mostly occurred a handful of miles south of the stadium in the capital region and in other cities around the country.

The Interior Ministry estimated a half-million people joined the different protests on Saturday alone.

“You would hope that the NFL is not going to put us in any bad situations,” linebacker Cole Holcomb said. “So if they feel like it’s safe for us to go, we’ll go.”

The protests began last month as high school students grew frustrated with underfunded schools and a shortage of teachers, and the demonstrations have since included groups protesting surging fuel prices and costs of living.

Violence erupted Saturday as tensions flared between police and demonstrators, and there were myriad reported instances of rioting and looting, as well. The New York Times reported roughly 1,500 shops were vandalized and 2,400 people were arrested.

Protestors barricaded the entrance to the Louvre on Monday, prompting a closure “for the time being,” the museum’s account posted on social media.

Later in the day, Paris police ordered partial curfews in several cities, including in the capital region.

The announcement imposed curfews for the Place de la Republique — where fires blazed and violent clashes broke out between police and protestors over the weekend — and the streets around Les Halles, where officials cited looting of shops.

The curfews will be in effect from 11 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to Paris police. Police numbers, French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez said, will be reinforced around France “particularly this weekend.”

Still, an NFL statement issued Sunday said preparations are continuing as initially scheduled.

“We continue to work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters,” it read. “We are also providing the two clubs with regular updates. There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”

According to ESPN, Saints spokesperson Greg Bensel echoed the league’s statement.

“In addition to working closely with the NFL, we have also maintained daily security updates with our security partners in France,” he said. “Members of our football operations staff and internal security team have been on the ground in France for the past few days and there has been no disruption or impact at any of our team sites.”

McCarthy said the Steelers talked via Zoom with the league office on Monday. Though he said that is standard protocol in the week leading into an international trip, the team also held a separate meeting where they talked about potential concerns for the trip.

As for a contingency plan if the protests escalate and cause a disruption for the operation of Sunday’s game, McCarthy said he hasn’t been part of those discussions. Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II has been.

“Mr. Rooney was in there, and he had a chance to ask questions, and then I went through the whole plan, everything that we foresee happening throughout the week as far as our schedule, the adjustments that we need to make,” McCarthy said. “But it’s not just one conversation. It’s a continuing conversation.”

Players in the locker room Monday morning didn’t express any particular concerns.

Outside linebacker Jack Sawyer said he hadn’t heard much about specifics.

“I know that there are protests going on,” Sawyer said. “I don’t even know what for, what’s going on, but I’m sure that they’ll catch us up to speed on all that stuff here soon.”

Safety Jaquan Brisker referred to the situation in France as “all that crazy stuff.”

“I’m just going to play the game,” Brisker added.

Linebacker Payton Wilson enjoyed the team’s trip to Ireland last year, and he’s simply excited to add to the NFL’s growing footprint.

“It’s the sport that we all love,” Wilson said. “I’ve been playing it since I was 5 or 6 years old, so I'm just super excited to let people see the passion that we have for this game and how fun it is.”

The Saints departed for Paris on Sunday immediately following their win against the New York Giants and will spend the week living and practicing in Versailles, located roughly 12 miles west of Paris.

The Steelers, meanwhile, have always planned to leave late afternoon Thursday and practice Friday morning in the Stade de France. McCarthy said the team weighed both travel options but wanted to stay as close to the “normal flow” of preparation as possible.

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