England fans are ambushed by bottle-wielding French thugs in shocking footage from Marseille
Hooligans throw chairs and bottles at the Three Lions supporters before riot police sweep in to break up clash
ENGLAND fans are ambushed by a thuggish group of bottle-wielding French youths in this shocking footage.
Local youngsters can be seen approaching Three Lions supporters who were eating and drinking outside the Baloo bar in the centre of Marseille before tonight's clash with Russia.
First, bottles are lobbed at the surprised fans, and things soon escalate as metal chairs are hurled in their direction by the French hooligans.
The English respond by returning the chairs as the group of fans clash.
But as French riot police enter the fray, the locals make off and disappear leaving the English fans to take the flak.
It follows another night of shame for Three Lions supporters heaped as they clashed with Russian and French hooligans for a second night in a row on Friday.
A Marseille restaurant was set ablaze as riot cops used tear gas on Three Lions fans again ahead of tonight's match.
England fans were seen hurling objects and chairs at their opponents as the fire rages in a local restuarant.
It is not known how the fire started or what nationality the offending supporters were but the English fans seem unfazed as they crudely shout and swear.
French police said: "Once again the English fans have been drinking strong beer all day and cannot deal with alcohol."
English, Russian and French hooligans reportedly violently clashed with each other as well as police in "desperate levels of violence".
Earlier, reports show supporters fighting with each other, after an afternoon of drinking as they pass the time before England's opening match against Russia tomorrow.
Supporters can be seeing fleeing as police try to break up the fighting with tear gas.
A witness said Marseille locals were launching "guerrilla attacks" on England fans: "The French were clever. It was like guerrilla warfare. But the police stopped this before the fighting became bad. They fired tear gas and the fighting stopped."
Thugs, believed to be French, kicked an alleged English fan onto the floor before throwing him over the harbour wall and into the sea.
The man, sporting a black eye, was later seen swimming to shore.
An eyewitness told Mailonline: "The groups of fans were chasing each other backwards and forwards. An English went too far and was cornered. He was punched to the ground and they were kicking him. Then they threw him in the water."
Fresh footage of fans appearing to be restrained by French cops outside the Queen Victoria pub in the Old Port has also emerged.
Supporters threw bottles at police, who used tear gas to disperse them.
A teargas grenade explodes near an England fan ahead of the opening match...
The officers, in full riot gear, were seen marching towards hundreds of England fans who ran away down side streets.
Several arrests have been made.
Riot police were 'forced' to use riot shields against fans in a bid to stop the chaos
After the tear gas cleared, hundreds of England fans remained, waving flags and singing the national anthem, as well as songs about German bombers being shot down.
Police were forced to use riot shields, according to Press Association reporter Tom White, who described the scenes as "ugly", with "lots of glass bottles being thrown".
Fans have blamed the heavy-handed tactics of the police for fuelling the violence in Marseille - when supporters clashed with local football hooligans.
Clashes erupted shortly after midnight in the French city's Old Port area where hundreds of supporters had spent Thursday drinking.
Huge flags of St George bearing club logos were strung up outside the English-themed Queen Victoria pub where the rioting had broken out the night before.
Three Lions supporters were also subjected to baton charges as fighting broke out with local youths who had been heard to shout: "Get the English."
The FA slammed fans following the violence.
A statement from the English governing body read: "We are really disappointed by the scenes of disorder in Marseille yesterday evening and condemn such behaviour.
"It is in the hands of the authorities to identify those involved and deal with them appropriately.
"The FA urges supporters who are travelling to Marseille to act in a respectful manner and enjoy the match against Russia."
Earlier an ominous tweet from the city's football ultras was posting saying: "Welcome to Marseille, England fans."
Thousands of English have travelled to Marseille ahead of their Euro 2016 opener with Russia on Saturday.
Groups of local youths are reported to have attacked the fans as they drank outside an Irish pub in the centre of the city.
Video footage shows chairs being thrown as violence erupts between the two groups, while tear gas can be seen wafting through the air as French security forces try to disperse the trouble makers.
The violence took place outside an Irish pub near the dockyard of the French city
During the scuffles fans were heard to chant "ISIS where are you?" in reference to the terrorist group which claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks on France last year.
One England fan was pictured lying in a pool of blood on the floor after being knocked unconscious.
Chris Lord, from London, said: "This was a really nasty attack. The gang knew exactly where we were, and clearly wanted to hurt us."
Police confirmed two England fans were arrested following the clashes as French restaurant and bar owners woke to clear up the damage of the night before.
One of those arrested was confirmed to be a 24-year-old who was nicked for throwing a beer can at riot cops.
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Local youths are reported to have carried makeshift weapons including belts and metal bars as they charged at the football supporters.
Hundreds of English fans had been drinking at O'Malley's bar and the Queen Victoria pub all day on Thursday.
Speaking about the ensuing violence, one fan, who would only be named as Simon, said: "They were baiting us, and then attacked.
"None of the England fans were doing anything wrong – a few of us had a bit much to drink, but that was all.
"Suddenly a French gang appeared and started attacking us, and throwing stuff. We had to defend ourselves, and then the police showed up."
Ambulances were on the scene by midnight as French police restored order within a few hours.
Images of the tear gas canisters used by authorities emerged this morning as the clear-up operation began.
Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters' Federation, suggested locals had come out to deliberately cause trouble with the England fans.
He said: "There's not huge numbers of England fans in town yet, probably the biggest congregation anywhere was outside this pub.
"People were drinking and having a bit of a sing-song all day, the French police were very relaxed, letting them get on with it.
"It was all fine until, our understanding is, a group of around 30 to 40 locals turned up, I think with the intention of provoking the England fans to see if they could get a rise out of them.
"In those circumstances it's the police's job to prevent a confrontation and they used French methods to do so, which we're not particularly used to.
"They used tear gas, which is a little bit indiscriminate for my liking, but it did the job and the problems were over. There were a couple of arrests of English fans as they responded to that provocation."
The port city is home to more than 200,000 Muslims though it is not clear if the trouble was caused by religious tensions.
The violence is a dark reminder of the last time England fans were in Marseille at the 1998 World Cup.
Then, scores of people were hurt, more than 100 were arrested or deported, and some England supporters were later jailed.
However, these England fans got the drinking started immediately
Boozy England fans started the party early yesterday after they began arriving in Marseille.
The tournament kicks off tomorrow with France’s clash against Romania, but these fans wasted no time after arriving in the host country.
They draped the city in England flags and took over Marseille’s streets for the long-anticipated tournament.
French police watched from a safe distance as England fans swarmed bars ahead of their game with Russia on Saturday.
French police observe from a safe distance after a bar is taken over by the English
Police will be hoping to avoid a repeat of 1998’s World Cup, where England fans clashed with Tunisia supporters in Marseille for two consecutive days.
French security services are already under huge strain, and have been on high terror alert for more than a year.
Most recently, they staged a terror drill in Lyon amid fears ISIS will be targeting the tournament.
More than 90,000 officers will be on duty during the Euros, which will run from Saturday to July 10.
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