France Restricts Alcohol Sales After Soccer Fans Riot
Following June 11, 2016, riots and arrests in Marseille related to a
Euro 2016 match between England and Russia, France has reportedly
restricted the sale of alcohol in cities hosting the next games in the soccer
tournament. Under the measures, public areas and shops in Lille and
Lens could not sell alcohol before or during the matches, while bars
and cafes were told not to sell drinks in containers that could be used
as missiles thrown from terraces. French Interior Minister Bernard
Cazenueve told reporters, “I have asked for all necessary measures to be
taken to prohibit the sale, consumption and transport of alcoholic drinks
in sensitive areas on match days and the day before, and on days when
fan zones are open.”
An executive from the Football Supporters Federation, which supports
England and Wales teams and fans, told the BBC that the ban would
not work, arguing that “the Russians and the locals here who have been
attacking football fans have been stone cold sober . . . They’re not drunk,
that’s not what’s caused the violence here.” Despite the alcohol ban,
French police arrested dozens of rioters in Lille on June 15. See BBC and
RT, June 13, 2016; BBC, June 16, 2016.
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