Arson attack paralyses France's rail network ahead of Paris Olympics opening ceremony
26 July 2024, 08:17 | Updated: 26 July 2024, 09:23
A spate of arson attacks on France’ s rail network have brought chaos to the start of the Paris Olympics today. With just hours to go before the opening ceremony on the River Seine on Friday, fires were started at key installations overnight, grinding trains to a halt.
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Hours before the opening ceremony on the River Seine on Friday gets underway, fires were started at key installations overnight, grinding trains to a halt.
Multiple services have been cancelled bringing chaos to fans and tourists into the French capital.
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French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said there was a series of "coordinated malicious acts" with a series of fires on the network.
The attacks were focused on the TGV high speed train network which covers the whole of France and will be a crucial network for Olympics fans.
Beyond the Olympics, Vergriete said the "criminal actions will compromise the holiday departures of many French people.
Eurostar advised passengers travelling to Paris on Friday to postpone their trip. As of 8am on Friday, it was still expecting to run trains out of St Pancras but they were expected to arrive an hour late.
A message on Eurostar’s website said: “Due to a problem with the overhead power supply in France today, we advise you to postpone your trip as your train is likely to be delayed due to infrastructure issues.”
The first blaze was detected early on Friday morning near tracks at Courtalain, in the Eure-et-Loir department.
It caused the interruption of traffic on the hugely busy Atlantique high-speed line.SNCF also referred to a 'malicious act' on the high-speed line between Lille and Paris, in the northern Arras sector.
GV Inoui and Ouigo trains were diverted to conventional lines, causing cancellations and far longer journey times.Crowds built up at major Paris stations such as Montparnasse, where trains to and from nearby towns such as Tours and Le Mans were all cancelled.
A spokesman for SNCF said it was the victim of 'a massive arson attack to paralyze the TGV network'.
He said the disruption should "last at least the whole weekend", and would have a knock-on effect across the network.
Criminal investigations will be opened into the attacks, but there was no initial theory as to who was behind them.
Olympic organisers have long feared acts of sabotage tagetting the multi-billion pounds games, and a vast security operation costing £350million has unfolded in Paris to try and counter threats.
The largest peacetime deployment of forces in France's history involves some 75,000 soldiers, police and private security agents.
"We're focused and we're ready," said General Lionel Catar, one of the military planners before the showpiece opening.
The priority is to protect some 80,000 competitors as they progress down the River Seine in dozens of barges, in front of some 350,000 spectators, and a TV audience of more than a billion.
