UEFA to help fund EURO 2016 security for visiting fans

The question of providing and paying for security at fan zones, where thousands of fans from France and other competing nations will gather in relatively confined spaces, has become one of the main items on the agenda for organisers due to the perceived high threat from terrorism.

'Negotiations are ongoing that should conclude next month and we have exceptionally decided to participate,' towards the cost of providing the security, Lambert said at a press conference in Saint-Etienne, one of the host cities for the competition that will run from June 10 to July 10.

Local authorities have raised serious concerns about the prohibitive cost of providing security in a country nervous about the danger of a new terrorist attack after 130 people were killed in a series of incidents in and around Paris last November, including suicide bomb attacks that targeted the Stade de France during France's friendly against Germany.

When asked about the extra security measures for fan zones demanded by the French government, Lambert said 'the level of security will be in line with that in stadia, with pat-downs of supporters on their way in as well as the reinforcement of CCTV inside and around venues.'

Gael Perdriau, the mayor of Saint-Etienne, which will host three group matches and one tie in the last 16, said he has set aside 'around two million euros (£1.5m, $2.2m) to spend on security for Euro 2016'.

Just over half of that will go on CCTV with the rest going towards paying for personnel to man the city's fan zone and the 41,000-capacity Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

'We must find the right balance between what should be a party and matters of security that must not be taken lightly, nor a matter for panic,' Perdriau insisted.