France’s high-speed rail network has been hit by “malicious acts” including arson, causing disruptions to the transport system, train operator SNCF said on Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of “sabotage”.
“This is a massive attack designed to cripple the TGV network,” the SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes would have to be cancelled.
“SNCF was the victim of multiple malicious acts overnight,” the national rail operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, Northern and Eastern lines.
“Acts of arson were initiated to damage our facilities,” it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was “heavily disrupted” and would remain so until the weekend due to repair work.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriet said on Friday, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, that the “massive attack” on France’s high-speed TGV rail network was a “disgraceful criminal act”.
Vergiete said there would be “very serious consequences” for rail traffic across the weekend, with train services across northern, eastern and northwestern France reduced by half, while Jean-Pierre Farandou, chief executive of rail operator SNCF, said 800,000 passengers would be affected.
Trains were being diverted to different tracks, “but we will have to cancel a large number of trains,” the statement said.
The South-Eastern line was not affected, as the “malicious act was foiled”.
SNCF urged passengers to postpone their journeys and stay away from railway stations.
Olympics amid tight security
The attacks came amid tight security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris, which was expected to be attended by 300,000 spectators and VIPs.
The parade on Friday evening will see 7,500 participants travel a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the Seine River on a flotilla of 85 boats.
This will be the first time the Summer Olympics will be held outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on the highest alert for terrorist attacks.
Dozens of passengers at Paris’s Montparnasse railway station waited for more information about their journeys after delays ranging from 30 minutes to nearly two hours were announced.
A signboard in the departure hall read, “Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29.”
“We arrived around 7 a.m. but were told we wouldn’t be able to leave before Monday,” said Jocelyn, a 27-year-old student who planned to travel to Britannia and declined to give her full name.
“We expected there to be a bit of chaos in Paris because the opening ceremony is to take place this evening, but we didn’t think the situation would get this bad,” he said.
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