Friday 

France vs Romania 9pm

PARIS – France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up.

Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites.

A state of emergency is also still in force after last November’s Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday’s opening game.

As if that were not enough, France’s preparations have been hampered by a string of injuries and a scandal involving striker Karim Benzema, who said last week that he was denied a chance to play in the tournament finals because of his Algerian origins.

Benzema was suspended indefinitely by the French football federation (FFF) last December because of his involvement in an alleged blackmail scandal. The FFF upheld the ban in April, effectively ruling the striker out of the tournament.

His comments did, however, deepen a row about alleged racism in a national team once hailed as a model for ethnic integration after they lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1998. 

Current coach Didier Deschamps captained France to that success, but 18 years later he faces a very different challenge.