Attacks on French railways cause chaos before Olympic ceremony: What we know so far
Three separate arson attacks on the country's train system caused chaos hours before the Olympic Games began in Paris. Authorities have said possible suspects include leftist militants and environmental activists.
PARIS: Three separate arson attacks targeting France's high-speed rail network paralysed train travel nationwide Friday (Jul 26) as Paris prepared to host the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics.
It was not clear who carried out the attacks and if they were intentionally timed to disrupt France's hosting of the event.
Here is what we know so far:
WHAT WAS TARGETED?
The "deliberate fires" damaged signalling infrastructure at Courtalain in western France, Croisilles in the north and Pagny-Sur-Moselle in the east, national rail operator SNCF said.
These three incidents affected France's Atlantic, northern and eastern lines leading to mass cancellations and delays at a time of particularly heavy traffic for summer holiday travel.
"Early this morning, coordinated and prepared acts of sabotage were perpetrated against installations of SNCF," Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.
SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou said the attackers had started fires in "conduits carrying multiple (fibre-optic) cables" that relay "safety information for drivers" or control the motors for points that change rails.
WHO IS AFFECTED?
Around 800,000 passengers are expected to be affected over the weekend as the damage is heavy and labour-intensive to repair. A quarter of a million were affected on Friday alone, SNCF said.
France's rail network was expected to be busy this weekend, not only due to the Olympics but also as people return from or leave for their summer holidays.
"There are huge and serious consequences for the rail network," added Attal.
One major branch of the network, the line to France's southeast, was spared after rail maintenance workers surprised unauthorised people on site.
High-speed rail operator Eurostar said around one in four services across its network linking France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany would be cancelled, including trains from Paris to London.
Others would be slower as they will run on regular lines not designed for high-speed trains.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Farandou of SNCF said: "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".
But by early afternoon Friday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said that some departures were going ahead, with "one in three" trains operating from Paris's Montparnasse station, the terminus of the line towards Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast.
Long-distance ride-sharing app Blablacar said it had seen a 150 per cent increase in reservations for Friday compared with expectations.
SNCF said that at the weekend two out of three high-speed trains linking Paris with western and southwest France would leave as scheduled, while 80 per cent of high-speed trains in northern France would run. But all travel would see delays.
Eurostar said that one in five of its trains would be cancelled at the weekend and warned of delays on those that do run.
WHO ARE THE CULPRITS?
SNCF CEO Farandou said railway workers doing night maintenance in central France had spotted unauthorised people, who fled when the workers called in police.
Minister Vergriete said that the people had been spotted with "vans", and "incendiary devices were found on the scene" of the attacks, calling it an "obscene criminal attack".
"This operation was prepared, coordinated, sensitive sites were targeted, which demonstrates some kind of familiarity with the network to know where to strike," Prime Minister Attal said.
France's intelligence services were scrambling to determine the perpetrators of the sabotage, a security source told AFP. The arson method used resembled past attacks by extreme-left actors, the source added.
WHAT LEGAL ACTION IS BEING TAKEN?
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement her office had opened a probe into a suspected bid to undermine "fundamental national interests".
The investigation will also look at suspicions that damage was inflicted by an organised gang and that attacks targeted an automated data processing system.
The investigation is in the hands of criminal prosecutors. Anti-terrorism prosecutors have not been asked to handle the case.
