Clashes in Marseille as Euro 2016 kicks off amid security concerns

Two England football fans have been arrested after French police used tear gas to control fans during a clash with locals in Marseille ahead of the first Euro 2016 games.

The arrests came amid unconfirmed reports that some English fans were taunting French Muslims and were heard chanting “Isis, where are you?”, referring to the Islamic State (IS) group.

Police said one fan was arrested for assaulting a barman and the other for violent disorder after clashes outside the Queen Victoria pub in the Old Port of the French city in the early hours of Friday morning.

The clashes between local youths and England fans came ahead of England’s first game against Russia on Saturday.

The tournament begins in Paris on Friday when hosts France play Romania in the Stade de France, close to where three suicide bombers detonated explosives during last November's IS-claimed attacks in Paris in which 130 people died.

French media reported four police officers were lightly injured in the clashes, which ended after tear gas was released by French police.

Steve Neill, a British policeman in charge of England fan security in Marseille, said: "About midnight last night there was confrontation between a group of local youths and some England supporters

“Local police moved in very quickly and utilised some tear gas to disperse the local youths and close the pub.”

There were reports that as many as 250 England fans pelted police with drinks cans, according to AFP, while footage of the disorder shows men throwing chairs and fighting outside a fast-food outlet before England fans were surrounded by police.

Ambulances were later seen arriving and police used tear gas to clear the area and separate the fighting groups.

"The use of tear gas seems quite dramatic to us from England and the United Kingdom because we are not used to seeing it - but in mainland Europe it is a regular tactic and they restored order fairly quickly,” Neill told BBC Radio 5 Live.

The disorder came amid continuing security fears for the football competition, which come in the wake of last year's Paris attacks, amid suggestions the football competition was creating new targets for militants.

“It as if we have created 10 open-air Bataclans and invited the jihadists to do their worst,” one French security source told The Independent website.

Ninety of the 130 people who died during the Paris attacks were killed by gunmen who fired automatic weapons into a crowd of rock concert-goers at the Bataclan theatre.

France is still under a state of emergency following the attacks and had mobilised an additional 90,000 security personnel to guard Euro 2016 amid on-going security fears.

On Tuesday Britain warned that stadiums and fan zones could be targeted during the competition, adding to security fears over the football extravaganza in France.

That warning came the day after Ukraine announced the arrest of a suspected far-right French extremist with a massive weapons cache who was planning a string of attacks during the competition.

"During Euro 2016, stadiums, fan zones, venues broadcasting the tournament and transport hubs and links represent potential targets for terrorist attacks," the Foreign Office said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, on a visit to London, said he had reassured his British counterpart Philip Hammond "and reminded him of the excellent cooperation between our intelligence services and police".

The US State Department gave a similar warning last week, adding that "unaffiliated entertainment venues broadcasting the tournament in France and across Europe" were also potential targets.