Soccer

Strikes hit trains to France's national stadium

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A man walks past a pile of rubbish bags in Paris, France, in Paris, France, Wednesday June 8, 2016. After a rough couple of months which have included protests, fuel shortages, rail strikes and once-in-a-generation floods, France's capital is facing a new challenge : Piles of uncollected trash. 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. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) (The Associated Press)

French striking CGT labour Union garbage collectors block access with pile of rubbish bags to the Paris' waste treatment center in Ivry Sur Seine, near Paris, France, Wednesday June 8, 2016. After a rough couple of months which have included protests, fuel shortages, rail strikes and once-in-a-generation floods, France's capital is facing a new challenge : Piles of uncollected trash. 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. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

French railway workers and Labor unions members stand with flare on railway tracks at Gare de L'Est station during a demonstration against the French government and labor law reforms in Paris France, Wednesday June 8, 2016. Workers of France's national rail service demonstrate as part of months of protests over changes to labor protections. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

Strikes have thrown train services to France's national stadium into disarray before the European Championship opening game it hosts on Friday night.

Two overland trains, the RERs B and D, link the Stade de France in Paris' northern suburbs to the city center.

The national SNCF rail company said strikes wiped out two-thirds of RER B trains on Thursday and that six out of 10 trains weren't running on the RER D. It is working on a fallback plan to try to ensure that fans can still use trains to reach the 80,000-seat stadium for France vs. Romania at 9.p.m on Friday.

An underground Metro line to the stadium was running normally and will have extra trains for the game, but is generally crowded at the best of times.