A total of 36 people have been arrested in Lille following clashes earlier this evening and tonight, according to the the police.
We’re going to wrap it up now at this end as things appear to have calmed down in Lille.
Updated
The water cannon has been brought forward now to an area where a significant number of England fans have continued to congregate, reports Sky’s Tom Parmenter, who adds:
There will be a blame game over French riot police action in Lille tonight - ultimately they decided they'd had enough - consequences messy
— Tom Parmenter (@TomSkyNews) June 15, 2016
But it’s a fairly mixed picture. Rob Harris of the Associated Press tweets this footage of what he says are England fans rampaging through the streets less than an hour ago:
Lille tonight - small number of England fans on rampage through streets. pic.twitter.com/Vdpr0lZ76U
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 15, 2016
Updated
Siobhan Robbins of Sky News reports that friction has been building between elements of the local population and some England fans. A number of French fans were behind police lines which was on the receiving end of glasses being thrown earlier by England fans.
Compared with the approach of the police in Marseille, she says that officers in Lille have stood back to a greater degree, even if they made their presence felt.
A lot of tear gas fired directly in front of us as England fans throw glasses at police, bangers also went off.
— Siobhan Robbins (@SiobhanRobbins) June 15, 2016
The Guardian’s Owen Gibson, meanwhile, came across these much happier French fans
Plenty of happy French fans still making their way home pic.twitter.com/H9FAQVkZNx
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 15, 2016
Updated
Another group of singing England fans and others has coalesced near to Lille station, reports Peter Walker. It’s good spirited for now.
On the basis of what he’s seen this evening, though, he believes that the police will lose patience and move in.
France and England fans having a sort of love in/sing off outside station in Lille. pic.twitter.com/zEHPV31tAE
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 15, 2016
Some other images now:
Updated
The sound of breaking glass and smoke is filling the air at the moment in the centre of Lille.
Here’s another view from ITV’s Emma Murphy, showing a line of riot police on one side, supporters on the other:
On the move in #Lille tonight pic.twitter.com/YlVKQrZrjs
— emma murphy (@emmamurphyitv) June 15, 2016
The focus of the police charges appear mainly to be England supporters. That said, there are French fans further back amid the group of journalists. The Guardian’s Owen Gibson is there :
Chaotic scenes as police charge towards main group of England fans, seemingly to disperse them. Teargas deployed.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 15, 2016
Police moving towards fans now, followed by phalanx of media and some France fans pic.twitter.com/eDUVpvEThM
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 15, 2016
Here are some more images form the centre of Lille, where police are continuing to chase groups of England fans, watched by a sizeable contingent of press and media.
Updated
Baton rounds have also now reportedly been fired in what appears to be an escalation of events in Lille.
It’s the last thing that Football Association will want to see unfolding. Here’s some video from Paris-based journalist Peter Allen:
Getting a bit tense in Lille now pic.twitter.com/nm9HZSPP9j
— Peter Allen (@peterallenparis) June 15, 2016
Hundreds of riot police have now just charged through the streets towards large numbers of supporters, who appear to be mainly English.
Water cannon are stationed nearby but have not been used yet. It appears to have been group of about three hundred English fans who had been based around a bar for most of the evening.
Updated
We’re just going to keep our eye on things for a bit longer now as it appears that a fairly tense stand-off is continuing in Lille.
A large cohort of French riot police have been facing off with a fairly rowdy group of English fans.
Six Russians have been arrested in connection with the violent clashes that broke out at the weekend, according to an update by Agence France-Presse.
It’s not clear if they include any of the detentions this evening in Lille. We’re going to wrap up our coverage of events (or the lack of them) there now.
It seems to have been mercifully calm, those skirmishes earlier notwithstanding. I’ll leave you with some of the excitement from another part of the city however, the moment when French fans watching on a big screen roared with delight when Dimitri Payet scored France’s second goal in their match with Albania in Marseille.
But de payet a lille cest de la folie pic.twitter.com/udYS0hZkkd
— LuccassTV | MelonPan (@luccassTV) June 15, 2016
Teargas has been used again, Peter Walker reports. It came after a large group of England fans marched through Lille, accompanied by a fairly large group of CRS riot police, before arriving back at the point from where they set out.
We're now back where we started, at the station square in Lillle. Lots of fans. Lots of singing. Lots of riot police pic.twitter.com/LlkyHA4YXa
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 15, 2016
The gas has been deployed fairly regularly this evening, although there are more than a few doubts among onlookers (and others) about whether there is a clear strategy for dispersal of the remaining fans.
English police liaison man overheard talking on mobile: "There's no strategy here. No strategy at all."
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 15, 2016
Updated
Peter Walker has also sent this update:
At about 10am local time Lille was a bit calmer, though calm in the sense of no seeming skirmishes.
There are still big groups of by now generally quite drunk England and Wales fans outside a few bars.
They seem in good spirits - a lot of singing and laughing - but that could easily change if, say, some Russian fans arrives. Also, for a city where no beer was meant to be served other than in plastic glasses there’s lots of empty bottles and cans about.
Darkness is falling now on Lille, where Sky’s Mark White reports that things are still fairly tense as fans face off with French police:
Police involved in tense stand off with fans in #Lille British police liaising with the fans #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/rSAQR7t9Ha
— Mark White (@skymarkwhite) June 15, 2016
Two fans have been arrested in Lille following sporadic skirmishes earlier, French police have told reporters. They’re believed to be Russian.
Here’s some video via Kaveh Solhokol, chief news reporter at Sky Sports News:
Two fans arrested in Lille. Police say they're Russian. pic.twitter.com/EmfZ0m2moh
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) June 15, 2016
Updated
Owen Gibson has filed another update from Lille, where he says that a “strange atmosphere” pervades the streets.
While thousands of locals have been making their way to the fanzone to watch France’s match, thousands of police are massing in different parts of the city in a bid to contain any skirmishes that break out between rival fans.
With a small group of 200 England and Wales fans decamping from their earlier spot after an outbreak of fighting with a small group of Russians, quickly quelled by police using tear gas, they then gathered outside a bar in the main square.
Watching were an outer ring of media and a handful of benign Russian fans, sitting on a wall opposite.
The fear is that the same routine that played out yesterday and late this afternoon will repeat itself, with a minority of Russians targeting the main group of England fans, with skirmishes ensuing as they retaliate and the police intervene to disperse them.
However it must be emphasised that elsewhere in the city, life is going on as usual. Restaurants and bars are full and most locals are going about their business and preparing for the France game to kick off.
Updated
There are happier times meanwhile in Marseille, which is hosting France’s match against Albania.
It’s just kicked off and is being live blogged here:
As usual with excursions abroad by large groups of England fans, British police have been present alongside their local counterparts, acting as spotters and picking up intelligence.
Here’s what they look like (courtesy of the AP’s Rob Harris):
English police on the ground in Lille pic.twitter.com/wY86A6ZCDp
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 15, 2016
A large number of fans have congregated outside one of the bars near the Lille Flandres station - with dozens of police officers carrying riot shields standing guard.
The Press Association reports that the crowd has been chanting God Save The Queen and England Til I Die, as well as singing “Where were you in Marseille?” towards the assembled police.
A red flare was lit as fans continued singing. Elsewhere a group of England fans outside the train station in Lille were penned in by police when one of them lit a flare and began to wave it as they chanted.
Updated
Peter Walker reports from Lille
As evening fell the streets of Lille were increasingly filled with jovial French fans en route to watch their match against Albania.
There were still several roving groups of fairly drunk if also mainly jovial England and Wales supporters, moving from bar to bar and singing songs.
As with earlier some of the songs and chants were anti-Russian. Smaller groups of Russian fans looked on but did little.
It seems likely there will be more clashes later. That’s just based on the fact that there’s a lot of fairly drunk young men around, and something of an animosity now between some England fans and their Russian counterparts.
It’s worth noting that all this has involved no more than a few hundred people at most, a tiny proportion of the supporters here.
It’s also hard to say what caused the initial trouble and who was to blame.
It does seem a small group of Russian fans rushed briefly at an English crowd. But this followed a long period of chants and finger-pointing by the England fans.
Updated
Among those witnessing the violence earlier was the broadcaster and former England footballer Stan Collymore, who periscoped events as they unfolded.
Here’s what he saw, with commentary:
The picture appears to be rather different in the city of Lens, where England and Wales will face each other on the pitch on Thursday.
Steve Douglas of the Associated Press reports that things have been calm this evening:
In Lens, where it's nothing like what's been happening in Lille.English fans drinking, singing near FZ. no violence pic.twitter.com/UoBKWtjqfw
— Steve Douglas (@sdouglas80) June 15, 2016
A loud bang from a flare or firework appeared to be the signal for a small group of Russians to charge at England fans, some of whom had mounted a parked car.
Owen Gibson reports that England and Wales fans then chased the Russians through the streets, with large numbers of police in hot pursuit.
The opposing sets of fans scattered through the back streets of Lille’s old city, pursued by French CRS riot police.
England fans and Russian fans chasing one another. Police on the move. pic.twitter.com/qwYcO3wVMS
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 15, 2016
The violence in the last couple of hours came after hundreds of England fans had spent the day drinking outside bars near Lille’s domestic train station.
The Guardian’s Owen Gibson, who has filed this news story, reports:
For the most part it was good natured, involving little more than songs and impromptu games of football.
But as the afternoon wore on, the songs and chants became more specifically anti-Russian, especially with news of Russia’s loss to Slovakia. “We’re England and Wales, fuck off Russia, we’re England and Wales!” went one chant, along with a song of “Russia’s going home”.
Couple of hundred England fans singing "Russia's Going Home", "Fuck off Russia, the city is ours" in Lille centre pic.twitter.com/YphNsXmO5v
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 15, 2016
As Russian fans began arriving in the centre of Lille after the game they mainly hung back and watched the songs, some smiling, though one could be seen carefully folding a large Russia flag to put away in a pocket.
But as more Russian fans arrived, the chants from their English and Welsh counterparts got louder and was accompanied by finger pointing and some evident tension.
Updated
Peter Walker is among Guardian journalists on the ground in Lille this evening.
He reports that the atmosphere is generally good natured for now but he believes that more skirmishes could break out if and when any Russian fans come near where groups of England fans are congregating.
New bar in Lille is now the base for couple of hundred fairly drunk England fans. Same songs as before. pic.twitter.com/nteokzDiv5
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 15, 2016
Fresh trouble has flared at Euro 2016 after England and Russia fans brawled and chased one another through Lille city centre in echoes of the violence that marred their match in Marseille on the opening weekend.
The clashes, which broke out earlier this evening, were clamped down on by scores of military and plain clothes police who fired teargas to clear the streets.
They are the first serious incidents since thousands of England, Wales, Slovakia and Russia supporters flooded into the northern French city.
We’ll be monitoring events on the ground for a while as what seems to be an uneasy peace holds for now.
The stakes are high. Both England and Russia have been warned by Uefa’s executive board they could be thrown out of the tournament if there are repeats of the violence in Marseille, where a small group of England fans clashed with police and locals before 150 highly organised Russians caused several serious injuries and left one fan in a critical condition.
