France's victory over Morocco in the FIFA World Cup triggered celebrations in capital Paris and unrest in other parts of the country in which a 14-year-old boy died. The teenager was killed in a fatal post-match hit-and-run incident in the southern city of Montpellier, according to The Guardian. The local police is looking for the driver of the car, which was found abandoned nearby after the "violent collision", the outlet further said. The police are collecting fingerprints and other evidence from the vehicle.
A video of the incident that is circulating on social media shows a white hatchback surrounded by fans attacking the vehicle. The crowd tried to rip away a French flag stuck to the back window, after which the driver made a sudden U-turn.
The stunned members of the crowd could not react in time and the teenager was dragged under the wheels.
The unnamed boy was rushed to the hospital but died of his injuries. The mayor of Montpellier said he was "deeply dismayed" by the incident, as reported by The Guardian.
French MP Nathalie Oziol expressed "immense sadness a sporting event ends in absolute drama". "I offer my condolences to the family," she said in a tweet.
About 10,000 police were mobilised across France, as authorities fretted over potential clashes between French supporters and those backing its one-time North African colony.
A total of 262 people were arrested across France, with incidents reported in Marseille, Avignon, Annecy, Grenoble, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux and Paris.
France's relationship with Morocco may not be as fraught as with Algeria, another former colony that fought a bloody seven-year War of Independence that scars both nations to this day.
But as in any post-colonial relationship, Morocco, which won independence in 1956, has its grievances with France, most notably over the question of visas.
More than a million Moroccans are believed to live in France and security forces had been on alert for any clashes like those in Brussels that marked Morocco's shock win over Belgium in the group stages.
