Naturally, at this early stage there are conflicting reports over who started the trouble, with some England fans insisting that they were targeted by the locals for no reason after being well behaved in the presence of the French police throughout the day.
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An Associated Press reporter saw fans throwing bottles and plastic chairs at one another.
England fans are being warned not to get dragged into trouble again Tunisian fans face off with French riot police in the streets of Marseilles Frank Brehany, consumer director of Holiday TravelWatch, said: “Marseille brings concerns you would expect to find in most major port cities of the world”.
Disturbing footage from Marseille – the focal point for many Three Lions supporters ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2016 match against Russian Federation – showed a group of fans shouting “Have it” as they pelted objects into the street from the Red Eagle.
British-French football violence in Marseilles does have a precedent during World Cup 1998, English fans were also involved in grave incidents that left 35 people hospitalised and 25 in detention after England’s 2-0 victory over Tunisia.
The Football Association (FA) said it was “disappointed” to hear of the events in Marseille in a statement released on Friday afternoon.
“It is in the hands of the authorities to identify those involved and deal with them appropriately”.
Footage posted on social media showed police forming a ring around dozens of England fans outside an Irish pub.
In Marseille clashes occured between about one hundred Britons and 50 or so local residents just hours before Euro 2016 opens.
One fan called Simon from Leeds told the Daily Mail: “They were baiting us, and then attacked”.
Peter McKinley-Smith, a 52-year-old England supporter from Chesterfield, said Friday that it was only a tiny minority of hooligans among the thousands of true fans.
Chris Lord, another England fan from London, said: “This was a really nasty attack. There were a couple of arrests of English fans as they responded to that provocation”.
British police said the scuffles had been quickly contained.
Police stand guard as England fans gather and chant slogans in the port area of Marseille.
Serengeti zoo press officer Asta Knoth says “our 6-year-old elephant lady Nelly has predicted who will win or lose the first game in Group C of the Euro 2016 by kicking a football towards two goals”.
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Mr Miles said he did not believe the incident set the tone for the rest of the tournament but was just 10 minutes at the end of the night after people had spent the day enjoying themselves.
