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Paris /Â AFP
After a triumphant start to Euro 2016, France braced for more strike disruptions and hooligan violence as England face Russia in a high-risk match on Saturday.
A tense France was finally able to party after winning the opening match against Romania and avoiding major hiccups as ongoing industrial unrest failed to disrupt transport to the Stade de France.
However a strike by a quarter of Air France’s pilots threatened to have an impact on fans travelling to matches, and trains continued to face delays on the 11th day of a rail strike.
While France is on high alert for terror attacks it is old-fashioned hooligans who have proved the first test for security forces, with two nights of clashes in Marseille.
Even before England and Russia hit the field, hundreds of drunk and bare-chested supporters clashed with each other and police, hurling bottles and insults outside bars in the Vieux Port district. Marseille is determined to avoid a repeat of events during the 1998 World Cup when English hooligans clashed with Tunisia supporters in the Mediterranean city.
That violence was among the worst ever at a major football tournament.
France still holding breath
The European football championship arrived in a glum France desperate for some good news after last year’s terror attacks were followed by months of industrial unrest, political turmoil and floods.
A much-needed 2-1 win against Romania, which came when Dimitri Payet fired in a long-range effort in the final minutes of the match, broke the tension with supporters in the stadium.
Le Parisien newspaper said more success for the French team could help the country.
“Even if France is breathing easier this morning, it is still holding its breath, hoping for victory in this Euro, to ward off the threat of attacks, for a stop to the social conflicts. Finally,” it said in an editorial.
Euro 2016 comes seven months after November attacks by IS extremists and suicide bombers in Paris left 130 people dead. While 80,000 football fans cheerfully submitted to heavy security to enter the Stade de France, fears of an attack have dampened enthusiasm and a massive Paris fan zone under the Eiffel Tower was only half-full, according to police.
Those who did go out were unperturbed.