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France’s rail operator has said the French are under attack after the country’s train network was “sabotaged” by arsonists just hours before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Jean-Pierre Farandou, the chief executive of SNCF, said the plans of thousands who had hoped to come to Paris for the games had been “ruined”.
“We are absolutely sorry that we are not able to run the trains expected by the French people. Today, it is the big departures that are being attacked, it is the French that are being attacked,” Mr Farandou told BFMTV.
The “coordinated” disruption will see 800,000 passengers facing delays over the weekend, with up to 250,000 affected just before the Olympics opening ceremony is set to take place on the River Seine on Friday.
Five incidents of damage or attempted damage to the SNCF network took place between 1am and 5.30am, targeting electrical or signalling boxes, according to France Info, citing sources “close to the matter”.
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