France’s high-speed TGV rail network has been hit by “malicious acts”, disrupting some of the nation’s busiest lines on the day of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
“Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities,” state-owned railway operator SNCF said on Friday, adding that the “simultaneous malicious acts” had taken place overnight.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on X that France’s intelligence services have been mobilised to find the perpetrators as he characterised the attacks as “acts of sabotage” that were “prepared and coordinated”.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete called the “massive attack” against the rail network an “outrageous criminal act”. He described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices at the sites.
SNCF said many routes would have to be cancelled “at least all weekend while repairs are conducted” as thousands of rail staff were deployed to repair the damage.
CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou said about 800,000 customers had been impacted ahead of a busy weekend for holidaymakers.
Arsonists had targeted installations along the lines connecting the capital, Paris, with the country’s west, north and east. The southeastern line was not affected as “a malicious act was foiled”, the railway operator said. It urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
Trains to neighbouring Belgium and to London under the English Channel were also affected.
The attacks occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepared for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday, an event featuring 7,500 athletes, 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs.
Reporting from Paris, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said: “Security was always a concern at these Olympics, and here you see why.” The apparently coordinated attacks were “a clear indication of the enormous security challenges France is facing”, he said.
Unprecedented security
National police said authorities are investigating what happened.
“It’s completely appalling,” Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told BFMTV. “To target the games is to target France.”
“These games are for the athletes who have been dreaming of them for years and fighting for the holy grail of standing on the podium – and someone’s sabotaging that for them,” she said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also weighed in, saying he absolutely condemned the saboteurs and hoped for the quick identification of the perpetrators.
“It is unacceptable to disrupt a celebration of peace like the Olympic Games with acts of violence. I hope that the French authorities soon identify the culprits,” he said in a post on X.
More than 45,000 police officers, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security agents are being deployed for the opening ceremony with snipers on rooftops and drones keeping watch from the air.
Smith said “an unprecedented security operation” was in place.
A large area along the Seine has been locked down for the ceremony, which will go along 6km (3.7 miles) of the river and will be “watched by more than 100 global leaders from countries across the world”, he said.
It was not immediately clear whether the arson attacks were linked to the international sports event.
‘Olympic truce’
Smith highlighted the tense geopolitical backdrop against which the games are taking place with Israel continuing its war in Gaza and Russia making territorial gains in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron had called for an “Olympic truce” during a meeting with Xi Jinping when the Chinese president visited France in May.
Given the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, there is not much hope for such a truce, Smith said.
On the contrary, the event has attracted accusations of double standards given that Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from participating under their countries’ flags but Israel was still allowed to take part with 88 athletes.
“The Palestine Olympic Committee called for Israel to be blocked … because of the war in Gaza, but those calls have fallen on deaf ears,” Smith said.
