Euro 2016

[Tusk]

Euro 2016: Fans injured ahead of England-Russia match
French police make arrests as clashes between rival fans of Euro 2016 teams fight in port city, leaving 10 injured.



With up to 90,000 fans expected to fill Marseille on Saturday, authorities were working to control the crowd [EPA]

At least 10 people have been injured, one critically, after English and Russian football fans clashed with each other and with French riot police in Marseille ahead of their teams' opening Euro 2016 match.

There were also scuffles on Saturday between visiting fans and locals, with some wielding cafe tables as weapons, in a third day of violence in the narrow streets leading off Marseille's old port.

Police made six arrests on Saturday, adding to the nine from Friday, and those charged could face trial as early as Monday.

Al Jazeera footage of one incident shows a man smashing a chair against another man, who then fell off a concrete flight of steps.

Marseille's emergency services said among those who were injured were one middle-aged man who was knocked unconscious, while one England supporter had suffered a heart attack.

Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Some fans walked through the city bare-chested and with blood dripping from head wounds.

"Once again, as over the last 30 years, an international football competition has been the scene of clashes between violent people claiming to be supporters of their national team," Bernard Cazeneuve, French interior minister, said in a statement.

'Vicious and intense'

Al Jazeera's David Chater, reporting from Marseille, described the fighting as "intense" with rocks, bricks and beer bottles being thrown and people exchanging punches.

"It's been a long, hot day of violence here in Marseille," he said. "There were very vicious and intense fights breaking out everywhere."

Chater also reported witnessing a Russian fan knocking out "completely unconscious" a man walking from the market.

Chater also reported witnessing a Russian fan knocking out "completely unconscious" a man walking from the market.

With up to 90,000 fans expected to fill the city, authorities were working to keep some sort of control of the crowd.

Europe's football organisation UEFA said on Saturday it "firmly condemns" the street battles.

"People engaging in such violent acts have no place in football," a UEFA spokesman said.

The England-Russia game was one of five classified as "high-risk" for hooliganism by tournament organisers and Marseille residents said the violence should have been expected.

"It's the English, what do you expect? We know what it's going to be like when they come here," said Laurent Ferrero, a pizzeria owner. "In 1998 it was the same thing."

Meanwhile, in the city of Lyon, four French men aged between 20 and 24 were briefly detained following a drunken fight in a bar where England fans had been drinking, police said.

The month-long tournament, which kicked off on Friday, is expected to attract around 1.5 million tourists at 10 venues around France.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/euro-2016-fans-injured-england-russia-match-160611175110444.html

One wonders how much of this is just hooliganism, caused by the political propaganda demonizing of each other and venting economic frustration? I'm sure its a combination. Its bad enough to have to deal with terrorist threats but the fans aren't any better, perhaps they should have held the event in Syria.    

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[Tusk]

Air France pilots go on strike as Euro 2016 starts

Start of the European football championships overshadowed by pilots' strikes and security fears in the country.

France is celebrating a victorious start to the Euro 2016 football championships after winning the opening match, but a strike by Air France pilots is threatening to to disrupt travel for hundreds of thousands of fans.

Police are on high alert in the southern city of Marseille, where England and Russia supporters clashed and hurled bottles at officers on Friday night, a day before their first game.

Industrial unrest, fears of terrorist attacks and devastating flooding have overshadowed the build-up to the month-long tournament.

Air France said it was cancelling flights on Saturday after 25 percent of the national carrier's pilots went on strike.

The airline confirmed disruption due to the four-day industrial action called by pilot unions over labour reforms a day after the start of the football tournament.

"Air France regrets this situation and is making every effort to minimise the inconvenience this strike action may cause to its customers." the airline said in a statement on Friday, adding that it expected to operate 80 percent of its flights schedule.

It is not the first time that the airline's pilots have gone on strike. In 2014, unhappy with how the carrier was developing its low-cost unit Transavia, pilots went on a 15-day industrial action with the airline reporting losses of more than $450m.

The latest strike comes after weeks of nationwide industrial actions in France that have paralysed refineries, resulting in fuel shortages.

Incinerators have also been blocked, leading to piles of rubbish in parts of cities including Paris and Marseille.

On Friday, hours before the opening match between the hosts and Romania, fears that a train strike would cause chaos for fans trying to reach the stadium were allayed as the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) vowed not to block transport.

But CGT head Philippe Martinez, who is spearheading the opposition to the government's labour market reforms, vowed not to be "blackmailed with the Euro".

"Our mobilisation will continue," he said.

Security fears at Euro 2016

Fears of terror attacks have also overshadowed the build-up to the Euro 2016 in France, which has been under a state of emergency since attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group last November killed 130 people.

The tournament is expected to attract around 1.5 million tourists at 10 venues around the country, posing a major security challenge.

The French government has launched a smartphone app that can alert users to any suspected attack or other disaster according to their location.

Some 90,000 police and private security guards are being deployed to protect players and supporters, including 13,000 in the capital alone, where soldiers could be seen patrolling with submachine guns.

The Paris fan zone at the foot of the Eiffel Tower was only half-full on Friday, according to police, suggesting security fears had dampened the enthusiasm of some fans.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/air-france-pilots-strike-euro-2016-starts-160611042341508.html

Terrorism, riots, strikes football, hooligans, bitcoin on the rise.......

it is the best of times it is the worst of times, a modern Tale of Two Cities

[dloghwak]

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.' - Bill Shankly
What's a good Euro Championship without some fan clashes?

[practicaldreamer]

England playing Russia.
England "fans" (read "useless fuckwits") cause trouble in Marseilles. Like the UK fuckin run Europe or something, some kind of crusade.

The irony is, is that if it weren't for Russia the England "fans" would have been speaking German a long time back.

[Tusk]

The irony is, is that if it weren't for Russia the England "fans" would have been speaking German a long time back.

Great point!

[zenitzz]

Such a shame this tournament will be overshadowed by hooligans who have no interest in the game whatsoever!

[bryant.coleman]

The irony is, is that if it weren't for Russia the England "fans" would have been speaking German a long time back.

Still some shameless people may claim that it was the UK and US, which saved the USSR from getting over-run by the Nazis. It was Shitler's biggest mistake in his life. He should have stayed neutral. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was more favorable to the Nazis, than it was to the Germans. But he got arrogant and thought that he could achieve what the Mongols, Ottomans, and Napoleon could never achieve.