France railways ‘sabotaged’ hours before Paris Olympics; What we know so far

Hours before the start of Paris Olympics 2024, France's high speed railway network was targeted in an arson attack on Friday, which the officials termed as premeditated acts of “sabotage”.

Fires that engulfed the railways Atlantic, northern and eastern lines led to mass train cancellations and delays affecting almost 80,000 passengers when the country sees high passenger traffic for summer holidays.

EuroAirport, an airport located on the Franco-Swiss border reopened and gradually restarted flight operations. The airport was temporarily evacuated following the alleged arson attack. Another airport at Basel-Mulhouse was also closed and passengers were evacuated for what the officials termed as “safety reasons”.

SNCF, the national rail operator, chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou told AFP that the attackers had started fires in "conduits carrying multiple fibre optic cables that carry safety information for drivers. "There's a huge number of bundled cables. We have to repair them one by one, it's a manual operation" requiring" hundreds of workers," he added.

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Officials described the damage as heavy and will need intensive repair to restore. Passenger services chief Christophe Fanichet said that there were delays of 90 minutes to two hours for rail services between Paris and France's north and east. "We ask people please not to come to the station, because if you haven't heard from us, your train won't be running," Fanichet told reporters.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told AFP, “Early this morning, coordinated and prepared acts of sabotage were perpetrated against installations of SNCF. There are huge and serious consequences for the rail network.”

SNCF CEO Farandou said that last night rail workers spotted unauthorised people during their routine maintenance in central France, who then fled when the workers alerted the police.

One major railway branch leading to France's southeast was spared. But train services between the capital Paris and UK's capital London were also cancelled.

Paris under security cover

The attacks took place at a time when the French capital continues to be a fortress ahead of the Paris Olympics. Almost three lakh spectators, including multiple VIPs, are expected to attend. The Olympic parade will see almost 7,500 athletes travel six km across the river Seine in around 85 boats.

French officials condemned the attack as “criminal action", adding that the crime could attract jail terms from 15 to 20 years.

Sources told AFP that the agencies are scrambling to determine the perpetrators of the alleged ‘sabotage’. The arson method of attack, they suspect, resembles previous attacks by the far-left elements in France. Officials so far have denied a direct link between the attack and the Olympic games.

France has reported multiple attempts to sabotage the conduct of the games. Previously, a Russian man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to destabilise the games.

Paris Olympics 2024 will be the first time a summer Olympics is opening outside France's main athletics stadium. This decision is suspected to be fraught with danger when the country is already under high alert for terror attacks.

(With inputs from AP, AFP)

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