A person holds a French national flag during a protest Oct. 8 against under-resourced schools in Paris. Associated Press

NEW YORK — The NFL said security will be heightened for the game in Paris between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on Sunday after civil unrest protests engulfed the French capital last weekend.

Executive VP of club business, international and league events Peter O’Reilly said officials are collaborating with Parisian and national authorities overseas, along with the U.S. State Department. League officials, including senior VP of security Cathy Lanier, have been on the ground in France, according to O'Reilly.

“There’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the teams’ security, the fans’ security — everybody involved with this game,” O’Reilly said at the league’s annual fall owners meeting. “Obviously being very vigilant in everything we do, in all of our planning on an hour-by-hour basis, working closely with the two teams.”

O’Reilly said there was never a point the game was in danger of not being played at Stade de France, which is in the outskirts of Paris in Saint-Denis. He cited other sporting events ongoing in the city, including a Champions League soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona on Tuesday night.

The NFL has in the past moved games to avoid getting in the way of local response to an unforeseen event, and officials believe that is not an issue for the league's debut in France.

"We feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed," O'Reilly said. “That’s always top of mind for us, and we feel confident that we wouldn’t be depleting resources in a negative way around this game.”

Rioters clashed with police, set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and engulfed a historic city hall in flames in France’s worst civil unrest in years as violence and looting swept through major cities.

About 2,400 people were arrested over the weekend, and authorities said thousands of businesses were damaged or looted. The rioting overshadowed demonstrations against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools in which hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully.

The Saints traveled directly to Paris after playing at the New York Giants and are practicing in the area this week. The Steelers are set to travel closer to kickoff.