Soccer-Marseille, Lille official club stores looted amid unrest in France

Olympique de Marseille and fellow French top-flight club Lille said their official storeswere looted during weekend unrest in France. Marseille condemned ‌on Monday the incident at its shop on La Canebiere, the city's historic main avenue, while Lille thanked everyone who had helped and offered support.

France had some of its ‌worst unrest in years at the weekend, with thousands of people arrested and shops looted or damaged during protests over high prices and declining public services. Earlier on Monday, Marseille authorities imposed a ban on public gatherings and demonstrations across the ‌city after violent protests and looting.

The ban runs from midday (1000 GMT) until 8 p. "Olympique de Marseille condemns ‌in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence and looting targeting its official store on the Canebiere and expresses its solidarity with its partner Puma, which operates the store," the club said in a statement.

"These events have caused significant property damage, forcing the club to temporarily ⁠close this store to the public. Fans ⁠may, however, continue to visit OM's other official stores in Marseille.

The club will inform its fans as soon as conditions allow for a ⁠reopening." Fellow Ligue 1 club Lille said its store on Rue Faidherbe in the downtown area was hit by severe vandalism and looting on Saturday and would remain closed until further notice. "LOSC would also like to acknowledge and thank everyone ⁠who has offered support over the past few hours - first and foremost our store employees, but also the many passersby, fans and non-fans alike, who ⁠spontaneously offered their help, a helping hand, and words of comfort," Lille said on Sunday.

A major cleanup operation took place on Sunday in cities across France, from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south and from ⁠Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest, where a masked group invaded the residence of the local prefect. Marseille ⁠are ninth in the league ⁠table after seven matches and return to action on Thursday when they visit Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Europa League.

Lille are fourth in Ligue 1 and host Turkish ‌champions Galatasaray in ‌the Champions League on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.