French police have arrested 36 people, and 16 were treated for injuries in the hospital after violence erupted in the streets of Lille on Wednesday night ahead of Thursday's Euro 2016 match between England and Wales in nearby Lens.
Flares and bangers were lit as officers charged at chanting fans, spraying tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds. Police used pepper spray against an England fan who ran toward them, as fights appeared to break out among Three Lions supporters.
Authorities said 16 people have been treated in the hospital but gave no details about their injuries.
"UEFA regrets the skirmishes which occurred in Lille last night," European football's governing body said in a statement on Thursday morning. "Police forces made several arrests and were quick to restore order and keep the situation under control."
Many fans are staying in the much larger city of Lille, and although bars were shut, some supporters defied a ban on drinking in the street the evening before the match.
Some were seen climbing road signs, and while English police -- sent out to help with the security operation -- urged fans to behave, French police charged at them repeatedly.
Late in the evening, two groups of about 250 English fans each merged just as thousands of French fans were streaming out of the fan zone where they had been watching the host nation beat Albania 2-0 in Marseille.
Several hundred riot police formed a human barrier between the two groups. Some fireworks were fired from the French side and a few bottles were thrown from the English side. The police then charged in the direction of the English, spraying tear gas and causing a stampede, with people sprinting into side streets.
Chaotic scenes as police charge and banger goes off #Lille pic.twitter.com/gJxb8SY6pr
- Tom White (@tomwhite7) June 15, 2016
Tear gas fired, huge numbers running #Lille pic.twitter.com/ZKiTej8VrF
- Tom White (@tomwhite7) June 15, 2016
Supporters of Slovakia and Russia were also in the city after their game in the city on Wednesday, which Slovakia won 2-1. Earlier in the evening, a small group of people wearing Russian "ultra" T-shirts threw a flare at a large group of England fans who then surged toward them. The Russians left the scene, and the remaining British fans were sprayed with tear gas, prompting them to hold their shirts over their mouths as they left the scene rubbing their eyes and spitting.
In footage posted online by ex-England footballer Stan Collymore, one man wearing a green hat was seen smashing wing mirrors off cars parked on the street. "Somebody threw a, not a grenade, something that went bang, towards some England fans and the England fans have just run," Collymore said.
He later pointed to a man who was pinned down in the road by police and said: "You were throwing bottles. Yes."
French authorities said the arrests on Wednesday included six Russians involved in violence on Saturday in Marseille. Five more people were arrested for public drunkenness on a train from London that was stopped before it got to Lille and then allowed to continue.
Away from the main square a group of England fans, who were comparatively quiet, were surrounded by police as they drank outside Cafe Oz. The officers parked more than 10 vans and a police bus in the square around them.
A large number of fans congregated outside one of the bars near the Lille Flandres station, with dozens of police officers carrying riot shields standing guard. The crowd chanted "God Save The Queen" and "England Till I Die," as well as singing "Where were you in Marseille?" toward the assembled police.
Elsewhere, a group of England fans outside the railway station in Lille were penned in by police when one of them lit a flare and began to wave it as they chanted.
The Football Association has responded to the unrest by calling for fans to behave responsibly and to "consider the wider position" of the security strain on French police during the tournament.