ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The UK should contribute to the cost of cleaning the streets of Marseille after last weekend's clashes between England and Russia fans, according to a French MP.

Socialist deputy Patrick Mennucci referred to the violence as "unacceptable behaviour" on a French news website.

"What has happened with the English fans is unbearable and extremely shocking," he said. "I hope at least that when the bill for the damage has been completed, their country will contribute to the cost because it should not be the people of Marseille who have to put their hand in their pocket."

The city was littered with debris over the weekend as football fans took over the town in readiness for Saturday's England-Russia match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Broken glass littered the roads and walkways around the Queen Victoria pub in the Vieux Port, which became the focal point for clashes between English, Russian and French fans.

Many fans who had tickets for the match walked the 3.5 kilometres from the Vieux Port bars to the stadium, discarding their empties along the way. Beer bottles and cans were thrown on to the pavement or left abandoned beneath the trees lining the streets. Piles of rubbish could also be seen everywhere.

However, it could be that the England fans were not entirely to blame for the mess. Bins had been overflowing and the rubbish piling up on Marseille's pavements for days before the match following a series of strikes by the city's refuse treatment workers.