A supporter from Nantes died on Saturday following a fight that took place before the club’s 1-0 win against Nice in the latest outbreak of violence to mar French football this season. Nantes said in a statement overnight that the fan was “fatally injured” close to the club’s Beaujoire Stadium. According to the L’Equipe newspaper, the fan was a member of the the club’s Brigade Loire group of fans. “In circumstances which are the subject of an ongoing judicial investigation, the 31-year-old collapsed, hit in the back,” the club said. “Despite the intervention of emergency services, the fan could not be saved.” Nantes said the public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into voluntary manslaughter. The Nantes public prosecutor, Renaud Gaudeul, said the incident took place shortly before 8pm local time, when several private hire vehicles carrying Nice fans on their way to the match were attacked by groups of Nantes supporters. “The very first forensic investigations show that the victim had a wound on his back, possibly caused by a bladed weapon,” the prosecutor said, quoted by French media. The local newspaper Ouest France said the suspected assailant initially fled the scene before turning himself in at a police station. The French sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, expressed her “great sorrow” in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter. “My thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and his friends in the stands,” she wrote. Jocelyn Gourvennec, who was appointed this week as the Nantes head coach, said he found out about the supporter’s death after the match. “I can’t imagine how you can go to a soccer match, sometimes with your family, and be between life and death after a match,” he said. “It’s inconceivable. The players talked about it a lot in the dressing room, they were very touched.” France’s Ligue 1 has seen an upsurge of violence in stadiums over the past two campaigns. According to France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, more than 100 police officers were injured in football-related incidents last season.