Updated

After a rough couple of months that have included protests, fuel shortages, rail strikes and once-in-a-generation floods, France's capital is facing a new challenge: Piles of uncollected ordure.

A new wave of strikes is disrupting trash collection in Paris with only two days to go until the European Championship soccer tournament, a sporting event predicted to draw 2.5 million spectators.

French media broadcast photographs of growing piles of garbage in the French capital Wednesday and trash bag barricades set up in front of waste facilities.

The mayor's office says garbage collection had been hindered for "several days."

French life has been disrupted for weeks by industrial action affecting trains and gas stations. A huge flood hit the capital last week, briefly shutting museums and drowning the Seine River's embankments.