Most important points
- According to the French railway company, the arsonists targeted the railway lines connecting Paris to other cities.
- The network is expected to be interrupted for repairs during the first official days of the Olympic Games.
- There is no direct claim for responsibility and there is no indication whether the action is politically related.
France’s high-speed rail network has been hit by widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism, including arson and the paralysis of traffic into Paris from the rest of France and Europe, just hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
French officials called the attacks “criminal actions” and said they were investigating whether they were linked to the Olympics.
The disruptions are expected to affect 250,000 people on Friday and last throughout the weekend. Source: MONKEY / Yasin Dar/AP
The disruptions, as the world’s eyes turn to Paris, are expected to affect a quarter of a million people on Friday alone and last through the weekend and possibly beyond, officials said.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete described how people fled the fires and that fire bombs were found.
“Everything points to the fact that these were criminal fires,” he said on Friday, while Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera condemned the vandalism.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” she told BFMTV. “If you target the Games, you target France.”
The incidents paralyzed several high-speed lines connecting Paris to the rest of France and neighboring countries, Vergriete said in an interview with BFM television.
The attack came against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Many travellers planned to come to the capital for the opening ceremony, but many holidaymakers were also passing through.
As authorities in Paris prepared for a spectacular parade on and along the Seine amid heightened security measures, three fires were reported near the tracks of the Atlantique, Nord and Est high-speed lines.
The disruptions mainly affected the large Montparnasse station in Paris.
The Paris police prefecture “concentrated its staff in Parisian train stations” after the “massive attack” that paralyzed the TGV high-speed network, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told television channel France Info.
All eyes were on the central notice boards as most services to Northern France, Belgium and the UK were delayed.
Traffic to and from sub-Channel London, to neighbouring Belgium and to western, northern and eastern France was disrupted by what the French national railway company SNCF called a series of coordinated incidents overnight.
Government officials condemned the actions but said there was no immediate evidence of a direct link to the Olympics.
National police said authorities were investigating the incidents. French media reported a large fire on a busy western route.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said authorities are working to “assess the impact on travellers and athletes and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition venues” for the Olympic Games.
Speaking on BFM television, she said: “When you play against the Games, you play against France, against your own side, against your country.”
She did not specify who was behind the vandalism.
Travelers wait outside the Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean in Bordeaux, France on Friday. Source: MONKEY / Moises Castillo/AP
Passengers at St Pancras station in London were warned that their Eurostar journey could be delayed by around an hour.
Notices in the departure lounge of the international terminal informed passengers bound for Paris of a problem with the overhead power supply.
SNCF said it did not know when traffic would resume and feared disruptions would last “at least the entire weekend”.
SNCF advised “all passengers to postpone their journey and not to go to the station”. The press release said that all tickets were exchangeable and refundable.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the Paris region regional council, said that “250,000 passengers are affected today on all these lines”.
Plans were made for replacement, but Pecresse advised travelers “not to go to the stations”.
France rolls at, with more than 45,000 police officers, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security guards.
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