Irish and Swedish fans are having the mother of all parties in Paris

IRISH and Swedish fans have been ‘on the lash with Jacques’ ahead of Monday’s showdown in Paris.

Following the unsavoury scenes in Marseille and Nice, both sets of supporters showed what the true spirit of the Euros is all about yesterday.

The Green Army linked up with thousands of fun-loving Swedes and — 1,002 years after giving the Vikings the boot at the Battle of Clontarf — partied together across the French capital.

In Clichy, the northern suburb of Paris, the rivals took over the main street to exchange friendly banter and rounds of “Ole, Ole Ole”. There was even an impromptu game of keepie-uppies when someone produced a ball.

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And the crowd was later swelled by hundreds of German fans ahead of their opening game last night.

Locals also turned out in large numbers to soak up the carnival atmosphere — and were clearly delighted with what they saw.

One told us: “The Irish are so funny but it’s always in good humour, never any trouble.

“We are lucky to have you and hope you stay in the tournament for a long time.”

It wasn’t just the Boys in Green cheering the team on either, Donegal pals Bronagh Moran, Susan Noone and Anne Dempsey arrived ticketless in Paris, hoping to soak up the atmosphere at one of the fan zones.

But last night they were celebrating a surprise bonus after nabbing seats for today’s Group E opener through the resale portal.

Delighted Bronagh told the Irish Sun: “We’re over the moon. We were just planning on watching it at one of the fan zones and then this happened at the last minute.

“It’s unbelievable, I’m really looking forward to it now.”

Clichy’s Irish pubs have been doing brisk business over the weekend too.

Bare-chested revellers made the most of the mild evening temperatures outside the Harp Bar on Saturday night. And Dubliner Ciara Hickey was enjoying a pint with Ailbhe Towell from Meath at nearby Corcorans yesterday.

Jack Dahar, from Malmo, Sweden, joined in the craic as he sunk pints with the Green Army.

And he was backing mercurial frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be the difference between the two teams Monday evening.

He warned: “Zlatan may be old but he has just had his best ever season as a professional so be careful. We think we have the defence to let him play his game.”

Alan Ricksen told how he and a gang of pals had travelled from Stockholm for this one game. He smiled: “As soon as the draw was made we were so looking forward to playing you guys.

“Everyone has so much fun and there’s never any trouble. It’s true what they say, you really do have the best fans in the world.

“We can’t wait to play you. It will be amazing.”

An estimated 45,000 Ireland fans will turn the Stade de France into a sea of green ahead of the 5pm kick-off today.

But supporters have been advised to get there early following reports of three to four-hour delays at some of the fixtures so far.

Meanwhile, a top cop has praised our “very well behaved” travelling army — but warned potential trouble-makers that his officers will not be taking their eye off the ball.

Garda Supt Gerry Delmar arrived in France last Monday and is leading a team of eight gardai at the football tournament.

Speaking as England hooligans were embroiled in a third day of violence in Marseille, he revealed there have been no reported incidents involving Ireland supporters in Paris, who are basking in “just pure enjoyment”.

He said: “The Irish fans — they’re very, very popular. We can see it here with them. They’re very popular throughout Europe. Over here they’ve been very well received.

“They’re very well behaved. They’re mingling with fans from other countries, and they’re getting on fine, so it certainly makes our work very easy over here.”

The tournament liaison officer described the scenes at the Eiffel Tower fan zone as the Irish were beginning to arrive.

He said: “They’re soaking up the atmosphere, they’re mingling with other fans, they’re enjoying themselves and they’re not causing any problems whatsoever.”

Supt Delmar also praised colleagues from English police forces, as security measures in the south of France came in for criticism over the weekend.

He said: “They’re very pro-active on the ground. We met them here at the command centre and they’re doing everything in their power to make sure that the English will behave.”

He added: “We’re all one big team over here and we’re doing our best to make sure that everybody will enjoy it and stay safe.”

@Barry M85