France vowed drastic measures to prevent strikes disrupting the smooth running of Euro 2016, as Europe's showcase football event kicks off on Friday also overshadowed by terror fears.
Glum organisers said that weeks of industrial action, often accompanied by violent protests, had already dampened the party.
"The image that is being given is not the one we wanted," chief organiser Jacques Lambert admitted just hours before hosts France face Romania in the Stade de France in Paris.
The football extravaganza comes after months of seemingly endless woes in the country, which has been plagued by terror attacks, floods, political turmoil and strikes.
As train drivers vowed to disrupt services to the stadium for the opening game, President Francois Hollande said he would take "all necessary measures" to ensure the championships go off without a hitch.
"I will be paying close attention... and if decisions need to be made, they will be made," Hollande said.
"Public services will be provided... The whole of Europe will be watching."
Transport Minister Alain Vidalies warned that rail workers could be ordered back to work if that was necessary to get fans to stadiums.
The cities of Paris and Marseille meanwhile scrambled to clear stinking piles of rubbish from pavements after unionists blockaded incineration plants and some bin men walked off the job.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo vowed to clean up all the rubbish from the streets as fans began to arrive for the month-long tournament. "It is already being collected today," Hidalgo told French TV.
First hooligan clashes
The country is also on edge over the prospect of another terror attack, with the championship coming just seven months after Islamic State jihadists killed 130 people in Paris.
The first match takes place at the Stade de France in Paris where three jihadists blew themselves up at the start of the November 13 carnage, which also targeted a concert hall and cafes and restaurants.
France remains a top target for the Islamic State group and warnings from the United States and Britain that the tournament could be a target have only added to the sense of nervousness.
Up to 90,000 police and private security guards will protect players and supporters at the tournament.
France's overstretched security forces also have to contend with the threat of hooliganism, which reared its ugly head already on Thursday night as around 250 England fans clashed with police outside a bar in the southern city of Marseille.
Seven people were lightly injured in the clashes in the city, where England will face Russia on Saturday.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday 300 people had been barred from serving in the private security teams after vetting showed they had been radicalised.
The massive security operation got its first real test on Thursday when French DJ David Guetta performed in the fan zone at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Some 80,000 spectators had to pass through two checkpoints and stringent security searches.
'Remove the blockages'
In another headache for organisers, Air France pilots have called for a four-day strike from Saturday, when an estimated two million foreign fans will begin arriving in earnest.
But Air France chief executive Frederic Gagey promised that more than 80 percent of flights would operate on Saturday.
While striking workers have varying demands, they are united in protest against labour reforms which government forced through parliament without a vote, locking them in a power struggle with unions.
Despite the potential negative impact of the strikes on the championships, the French government is refusing to budge on a law it says will help reduce unemployment.
"Let us be clear, the government has no intention of withdrawing this law, or of unravelling it," Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri told AFP.
She said she would meet powerful union leader Philippe Martinez, who is spearheading the industrial unrest, "in a minute if it would allow us to remove the blockages in this country".
Despite the gloomy atmosphere, some hoped the tournament would provide a welcome respite from the woes that have dogged and divided France.
An editorial in the Parisian newspaper said the opening match would provide "a breath of fresh air in a France which has struggled to breathe for months.
"No, a football match will not erase days of strikes and weeks of tensions. But the prospect of a delightful little digression is enough to leave many of us smiling."
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