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Train strikes in France causing concern ahead of Euro 2016 opener

Fans attending France's opening Euro 2016 game against Romania could face transport problems amid strikes in Paris.

Workers are striking over changes to French workplace practices, causing disruption ahead of Friday's opener at Stade de France.

Strikes are also planned from Saturday on the national air carrier, Air France. Recent weeks have also seen violent demonstrations and petrol shortages, while trash collection has been disrupted in half of Paris' districts since Monday.

"The strike, clearly, will disrupt the Euros," said Beranger Cernon of the CGT union, leading strikers at the Gare de Lyon, one of Paris' main rail hubs. "We will continue to strike."

The 80,000-seater stadium on Paris' northern outskirts, in Saint-Denis, is hosting a total of seven games, including the final on July 10.

Organisers generally recommend that spectators take public transport to get to the stadium, with two overland lines and one underground Metro line serving the arena. But strikes made that difficult on the eve of the fixture.

While the Metro line to the stadium was running normally on Thursday and will have extra trains for the game, the two overland lines were severely disrupted.

The national SNCF rail company said strikes wiped out two-thirds of RER B trains that run past the stadium and that six out of 10 trains weren't running on the RER D that also serves the area.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.