French rail network hit by sabotage on eve of Paris Olympics

PARIS: France’s rail network was paralysed Friday by coordinated acts of sabotage which knocked out most of its high-speed train services hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

French rail operator SNCF said three night-time arson attacks had destroyed cabling boxes at strategic junctions around its network at locations north, south-west and east of Paris.

A fourth attempted act of vandalism south-east of the capital was thwarted by rail workers who spotted intruders in the early hours of Friday.

“Our intelligence services and law enforcement are mobilised to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal posted on X, calling the attacks “prepared and coordinated acts of sabotage”.

Around 25 percent of trains on the Eurostar network, whose routes include London-Paris, were cancelled.

“This will also be the case” on Saturday and Sunday, the train operator said.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo was adamant, however, that the sabotage would have “no impact on the ceremony”.

French security forces are on their highest alert to prevent terror attacks from spoiling the start of the first Olympics in Paris in 100 years, while acts of sabotage from hostile foreign powers were also a known risk.

French officials refused to comment on the identity of the culprits of the rail sabotage who appear to have had a sophisticated understanding of the network.

Far-left French anarchists have a history of targeting the train network with arson attacks. Suspicions might also fall on Russia, which French President Emmanuel Macron has said in the past was planning to target the Games.

Police arrested a Russian man this week in Paris who was suspected of “organising events likely to lead to destabilisation during the Olympic Games”.

Commenting on the rail disruption, which will affect 800,000 people over the weekend, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach told the media that he had no concerns.

A huge security perimeter has been erected along both banks of the Seine, guarded around the clock by some of the 45,000 police and paramilitary officers who will be on duty on Friday evening.

Another 10,000 soldiers are set to add to the security blanket along with 22,000 private security guards.

Police snipers are set to be positioned on high points along the river, which is overlooked by hundreds of buildings.