On Friday we expressed our hope that football’s European Championship would be played out in a safe and peaceful environment. We did so because France, the tournament host, has endured a difficult prelude to Euro 2016, struggling to put a lid on waves of terror, floods, strikes and civil unrest.
Whatever peace we hoped for was shattered in the streets of Marseille before Saturday night’s match between England and Russia and broken entirely when battles erupted inside the Stade Velodrome.
There will be questions about why the game was played in Marseille, where England fans ran amok during the 1998 World Cup. There is also no doubt that Russian supporters played a significant antagonising role. The drunken oafs who claim to support these sides have dragged their countries into disrepute. All this bodes ill for the next World Cup in Russia and for French security today, who find themselves dragged away from their primary task.
