PARIS: France’s high-speed rail network faced arson attacks on Friday, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. This France railway sabotage happened just hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. #FranceRailwaySabotage
A source close to the investigation told AFP that the attacks involved coordinated acts of “sabotage.”
“This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyze the TGV network,” SNCF told AFP. They added that many routes would face cancellations.
“SNCF experienced several simultaneous malicious acts overnight,” the national train operator said. These acts affected its Atlantic, northern, and eastern lines.
“Arson attacks aimed to damage our facilities,” it said. The attacks “heavily disrupted” traffic on the affected lines, and disruptions will continue through the weekend.
SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou reported that arson attacks affected 800,000 passengers.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete called the attacks an “outrageous criminal act.” He said they would have “very serious consequences” for rail traffic throughout the weekend.
He said connections towards northern, eastern and northwestern France would be halved.
SNCF said it was diverting trains to different tracks but would have to cancel a large number of them.
The southeastern line was not affected as “a malicious act was foiled”.
SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
Moreover, the timing of the France railway sabotage raised suspicions of a coordinated effort to disrupt the event. #FranceRailwaySabotage
Furthermore, the France railway sabotage underscored the need for heightened vigilance and improved security measures. As the Olympics approached, maintaining seamless transportation was crucial for the success of the event.
