**France’s High-Speed Train Network Targeted by Sabotage Ahead of Paris Olympic Games Opening Ceremony**
France’s national railway company, SNCF, announced on Friday that the country’s high-speed train (TGV) network has become a target of various “malicious acts,” including arson attacks, severely disrupting the traffic conditions on the day of the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony.
According to a source who spoke to Agence France-Presse, these attacks may be coordinated acts of “sabotage.”
SNCF told AFP, “This is a large-scale attack aimed at paralyzing the French high-speed train network,” adding that many routes will have to be shut down.
The statement by SNCF indicated that the sabotage incidents affected its Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern lines.
The statement read, “Arson attacks have damaged our facilities,” further noting that the traffic on the affected lines has been “severely disrupted,” a situation expected to last throughout the weekend.
Trains are being rerouted onto different tracks, but “we will have to cancel a significant number of train services.”
This series of coordinated sabotage acts, dubbed “collaborative destruction,” aimed to disrupt people’s travel plans ahead of the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony. SNCF posted on social media Platform X, stating that “a large number of trains have been rerouted or canceled,” and advising “all passengers to delay their journeys if possible and not go to the train stations.”
AFP reported that approximately 800,000 passengers were affected by the attacks.
Eurostar also stated that its railway service between London and Paris was disrupted due to the sabotage acts, resulting in multiple train cancellations and extended travel times.
Government officials condemned these events just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. However, there is currently no evidence linking these sabotage incidents to the Olympic Games.
French authorities stated that they are investigating the truth behind the events. French media reported a large fire on a busy highway in the west.
French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete posted on Platform X, condemning the criminal acts and thanking SNCF for its efforts to restore traffic.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera stated that authorities are working to “assess the impact on passengers and athletes and ensure smooth transportation for all delegations to the Olympic venues.”
She told BFM TV in an interview, “To act against the Olympics is to act against France, against one’s own team, against one’s own country.”
She did not specify who was behind the sabotage acts.
Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez, in an interview with France Info radio, announced that additional police forces would be deployed to overcrowded train stations to address the SNCF incidents.
The attack occurred on the eve of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, where an estimated 300,000 spectators are expected to attend. Due to the risk of potential attacks, Paris is on high alert.
*(This article referenced reports from Agence France-Presse and Associated Press)*