PARIS (AP) mdash; The NFL closed its ldquo;NFL Houserdquo; in Paris on Saturday as the city braced for street protests with a heavy police presence and storefronts boarded up.nbsp;The league announced the closure to fans on Saturday morning through its ldquo;OnePassrdquo; app and it came a day afte r it said its pop-up NFL shop would also be shut Saturday mdash; in both cases citing ldquo;potential accessibility issues.rdquo;nbsp;Security concerns have overshadowed the NFL's debut in Paris. The New Orleans Saints will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Stade de France in the league's first-ever regular-season game in France.nbsp;Also Saturday, the Saints announced that ldquo; Saints House has been postponed until Sunday.rdquo;nbsp;Events planned Saturday at NFL House included ldquo;French Athletes in Footballrdquo; and ldquo;From the Field to the Community.rdquo;nbsp;ldquo;I was looking forward to just checking out some of the installations they had mdash; they were going to have the Lombardi Trophy,rdquo; fan Nick Paiva said.nbsp;Museums closedMajor museums including the Louvre and Orsay Museum are closed Saturday, though tourists were lined up to enter Notre Dame Cathedral. French authorities are intent on preventing a repeat of recent violent unrest.nbsp;The U.S. State Department this week issued a security alert that cautioned ldquo;Americans in Paris for the NFL gamerdquo; to ldquo;exercise caution and be aware of their surroundingsrdquo; because of protests.nbsp;NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week that preparations were made in consultation with U.S. and French authorities. Street protests, he said, ldquo;are not unusual in France.rdquo;nbsp;On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Goodell along with Saints owner Gayle Benson and Steelers owners Art Rooney II at the Eacute;lyseacute;e Palace to ldquo;discuss Sundayrsquo;s game and the long-term future of the NFL in Paris.rdquo;nbsp;The NFL said Friday that its pop-up shop in the city center would be closed Saturday but that fans could use an alternative shop set up at Stade de France, located north of the city in Saint-Denis.nbsp;A weekend event for Steelers fans was canceled Thursday because of security concerns.nbsp;Fans react in ParisPaiva, an American who lives in France, wanted to visit NFL House, where his partner, who is French, could learn more about the sport.nbsp;He had also expected to participate in the leaguersquo;s activation called ldquo;Hail Mary over the Seinerdquo; in which you try to throw a football across the famed waterway, at a location near Notre Dame. Despite having registered, Paiva was told at the site that he needed to also have made a time-slot reservation.nbsp;ldquo;That was not communicated very well,rdquo; he said after being turned away. ldquo;Crsquo;est comme ca mdash; itrsquo;s the way it is.rdquo;nbsp;French teenager Oskar Le Gall, wearing a Bryce Young jersey, was able to give it a shot. His throw came up a bit short. A worker on the other side stayed busy scooping balls out of the river using a long pole with a net attached.nbsp;Le Gall, who is from the Brittany region, said ldquo;the atmosphere of the NFL in Paris is amazing,rdquo; noting that French sports leagues and teams typically don't promote themselves that much.nbsp;Le Gall and his brother were keeping an eye on the planned path of the protests Saturday.nbsp;ldquo;It doesn't feel calm and good to be a tourist in Paris,rdquo; he said. ldquo;It's not good for the NFL.rdquo;nbsp;At one point during the Hail Mary event, 11 national police vans with their emergency lights flashing drove past on the street above as a fan got ready to throw a ball.nbsp;Fan groups staying informedSteelers fan Monika Allen was able to avoid any protests thanks to advice posted on fan-led Facebook groups.nbsp;ldquo;The fans are doing a good job keeping each other informed of where to be and where not to be,rdquo; Allen said by the lsquo;Hail Maryrsquo; event.nbsp;Her cousin, Viktor Toth, was wearing her Terry Bradshaw black-colored Steelers jersey.nbsp;ldquo;We're not worried,rdquo; she said. "My cousin is Hungarian, so he knows that the protests happen regularly in Paris."Permalink| Comments ...read more read less