Hours before the kick-off to the Euro2016 in France about 100 British football fans were involved in skirmishes with locals in the southern French city of Marseille, French police have reported. A police official said two British fans were injured and four police officers slightly hurt. Marseille will host the Russia-England match on Saturday, June 11.
Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said the overnight incidents amounted to a scuffle between fans that did not call security measures into question. Full-scale security would be deployed for Saturday’s match in Marseille, he said.
The Euro championship was set to open later on Friday with France facing Romania under tight security at the Stade de France stadium north of Paris.
Almost 90,000 police and security staff are being deployed at stadiums around the country that will host millions on fans in the coming weeks and at official fan zones where millions more will be able to watch matches on giant TV screens.
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