10 June 2016•Update: 10 June 2016
PARIS
Two people have been arrested by riot police after a brawl with locals in Marseille, less than a day before the start of the Euro 2016 football championship, according to the French Interior Ministry.
Scores of riot police, accompanied by dogs, used tear gas to disperse clashes, reportedly between around 200 England supporters and a group of locals, on the night from Thursday to Friday in the southern city of Marseille.
According to French daily Le Figaro , a 24-year-old English man was taken into custody for "violent disorder". A French man, 30, was also arrested for "violence with an improvised weapon”.
Video footage of the incident on BFM TV showed chairs and tables being thrown between two groups of men, as well as fistfights before police intervened.
The England-Russia match is scheduled for Saturday at 9 p.m. local time (19.00GMT) at the Stade Velodrome.
The EURO 2016 tournament runs from June 10 to July 10, in 10 cities: Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne, and Toulouse.
Tournament host France will meet Romania at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The match starts at 9 p.m. (19.00GMT) on Friday.
