Hollande warns striking unions against disrupting Euro 2016 tournament

France has been witnessing industrial action for some weeks, mainly over reforms to labour law, and a train strike could affect today’s opening match.

Hollande said everyone had a duty to ensure that the competition was allowed to proceed without incident.

"I appeal to everyone's sense of responsibility because if the state must do its duty – and it will, it will take all the measures that are necessary," he said on Thursday.

"At the same time, it is also necessary that those who are taking part in actions, or who are organising them should also shoulder their responsibility... so that this great event can be a shared popular festival."

Train drivers are threatening to strike on a line serving the Stade de France in St Denis just outside Paris, the same stadium which will host Friday evening's match between France and Romania.

Sports minister Thierry Braillard appealed to the unions to consider the football fans.

"While there are times when strikes can take place, we are now on the eve of an event during which they are going to prevent some fans from getting to the stadium," he said. "That's just not normal."

But train driver and secretary general of the CGT union at the Gare de Lyon in Paris Berenger Cernon was unapologetic.

"It's not us who determine the calendar," he said.

"We did not decide that the Euro will take place on this date. There is a social movement going on now, the re-organisation [of labour] continues, the labour law continues. We want the negotiations on the collective agreements be open for everybody. So yes, clearly this will disturb the Euro [tournament] and we will continue the strike."

Football fans arriving in Paris and several other cities this week have been greeted by the sight and smell of uncollected rubbish sacks as trade unionists blockade incinerators, the BBC reports.

Nearly 3,000 tonnes of waste have gone uncollected in Paris, according to the authorities.

The country has also been on high alert since the terror attacks on Paris in November, as well as recovering from flood damage in central and northern regions.