Flares and bangers were lit as officers charged at chanting fans, spraying tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
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French police on Tuesday took a group of 43 Russian supporters into custody near Marseille over clashes before and during Russia’s match against England on Saturday.
A group of several hundred English fans drinking in local bars had been getting progressively rowdier and noisier, singing songs taunting Russian Federation, when a loud explosion was heard and some bottles were thrown.
Rival supporters are sure to meet in Lille, where trains from England arrive and fan zones have set up for those without tickets. Some bystanders took refuge in a nearby pharmacy.
At least two English fans were arrested and jailed after throwing bottles at police in Marseille, while video has since emerged of what appears to be the arrest of another England supporter in Lille.
The arrests came after violent clashes involving Russian football supporters before and after the match of Russian national team with England in Marseille on June 11.
With fans of Russia, England and Wales all in the same location, thousands of extra emergency personnel have been sent to the area by the French authorities.
The ministry said the decision by the Marseille prosecutor to hold the Russians for 48 hours pending investigation was “discriminatory”.
A Russian foreign ministry statement warned against “further stoking of anti-Russian sentiments”.
“You probably saw the outrageous scenes on television of them trampling on the Russian flag and screaming insults directed at the Russian leadership and leading Russian athletes”, he said.
“Today, the measure is very simple: flood the public space with police so that there is no room for any form of hooliganism”, Sports Minister Patrick Kanner said.
Dmitry Peskov also voiced hope Wednesday that the Euro 2016 will continue without any further “excesses”.
“This is a bunch of good fans having a good time”.
Moments later, “Two Russian fans were surrounded by French riot police and were soon handcuffed and driven away”, he said.
Slovakia claimed a 2-1 win against Russian Federation to revive their hopes of reaching the Euro 2016 knock-out stages and leave their opponents on the brink of elimination.
The incident could still be costly for the Russian federation.
Russian Federation had received a final warning on Tuesday from UEFA in the shape of a “suspended disqualification”, with any further violence by its fans inside grounds to be punished with an early ejection from the tournament.
Before kick-off, fans of both teams began to congregate around the stadium as the heavy rain gave way to sun.
Trouble first broke out earlier on Wednesday, with some English and Russian supporters being detained after scuffles. Among those arrested were Russians, Slovaks and a woman from Ukraine.
More than 2,500 police, security guards and soldiers will be on duty over the next couple of days.
Among the three Russians given prison terms is Alexei Erunov, the director for fan relations at leading Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. It was the last few seconds of a game that cost us, maybe we need to work a bit better on the ball and we go from there.
Authorities had flooded the city’s streets with police earlier in the day and imposed strict alcohol bans to try to avoid a repeat of the violence that marred the England-Russia match on Saturday.
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“Everything that could be done has been done”, Dimpre said.
