Reports are as yet unclear, but there have been further shocking scenes of violence in Marseilles tonight marring the opening game of Euro 2016 in which France beat Romania 2-1.
There have been reports of violence for the past 24 hours in the port city, but things have escalated again in the last hour. English fans were attacked in one pub and at least one man was injured, pictured with blood streaming down his face as he left the Havana Bar.
There have been widespread reports of violence in Marseilles for the last two days with Daniel Boffey of the Guardian saying:
"Supporters who had been drinking for most of the day at the Queen Victoria pub in the Old Port district threw bottles at French riot police, who used tear gas to disperse them. The officers, who wore full riot gear, were seen marching towards hundreds of England fans who ran away down the street.
The clashes came after a night of violence in the city in southern France and just hours before the first game between the hosts and Romania in Paris."
bar i'm watching in just attacked out of blue. ppl, tables sprawling. ppl wounded by flying bottles. tear gas in air pic.twitter.com/XZrpjCRxOG
— Ken Early (@kenearlys) June 10, 2016
With all the talk that this was to be the most secure tournament in history - with a record spend on security and defence to protect people from the supposedly "new" threat of terrorism - it is worrying to see that French police are unable to deal with the more traditional threat of hooliganism.
