There was a brief altercation between a small number of fans early into Thursday's Nations League soccer game between France and Israel, according to the Associated Press news agency.

That was despite heavy security inside the stadium, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam in connection with an Israeli club team's visit.

Around 10 minutes after the game kicked off as scheduled at 8:45 pm local time, there was scuffle in the top section of the stand behind one of the goals. It was not clear what caused the altercation and security intervened after around one minute.

French police chief Laurent Nuez said 4,000 police officers and security staff were deployed in and around the Stade de France, with another 1,500 police on public transport. Several buses carrying Israel fans arrived under police escort and some were waving flags inside the stadium.

Less than 20,000 of 80,000 tickets were sold, with around 150 Israel supporters present. Paris authorities have been on high alert following the violence in Amsterdam before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dutch authorities said fans from both sides were involved in the unrest.

"What we learned from Amsterdam is that we need to be present in the public space including far away from the stadium, and in public transport before and after the match," Nuez told broadcaster France Info.

A couple of hours before the game, a pro-Palestinian demonstration attracted several hundred people to a square in Saint-Denis to protest against the match taking place. There were no reported incidents.

Israel's team bus arrived at the stadium shortly after 7 pm local time. Around one hour before kickoff, Nuez visited the stadium's video surveillance facilities along with French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Three months after hosting the Olympic closing ceremony, the atmosphere had gone from festive to fearful. French President Emmanuel Macron and Retailleau were present, along with former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.