French railways paralyze the opening day of the Olympics
Fest it is that they should be familiar with the French rail network in order to know where to attack, added Attal. The Prime Minister, who is currently only acting in office, visited the crisis center at the Transport Ministry in the afternoon. Intelligence services and security forces have been mobilized to find the perpetrators, he said.
According to the French railway SNCF, approximately 800,000 passengers were affected over the weekend. At several Parisian train stations, travelers waited for hours to get information about their connections.
At Montparnasse Station, no train ran all morning long. Access to the tracks was partially fenced off. Only about every third train was expected to run on the line between Paris and Bordeaux in the afternoon. Approximately one quarter of Eurostar connections from Paris to Brussels or London were expected to fail.
According to the railway, three locations on the TGV lines to Lille in the north, Strasbourg in the east, and Bordeaux in the west were affected. A suspected sabotage act on the line to Marseille was prevented.
At the affected locations, power lines with Glass Fiber Cables were damaged by fire near the tracks, which are important for the safety of the trains and the switch positions. "It will be a laborious task to repair the cables," said SNCF Network Chief Matthieu Chabanel.
The Public Prosecutor's Office opened investigations for damage to state interests. There was also suspicion of damage with dangerous means and attacks on data processing systems. In case of conviction, the perpetrators face long prison sentences.
Similar sabotage acts had already occurred in the past. In January 2023, during the protests against the pension reform, Unknowns damaged 600 cables with fire, causing numerous train cancellations. In Germany, radical leftists had claimed responsibility for arson attacks on railway cable ducts in September to protest against "neocolonial exploitation".
SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou spoke of a "sad day". "It's an attack on vacation trips, on the French," he said, looking at the date three weeks after the start of the summer holidays, when heavy travel was expected. A "gang of spinners" had committed this act. Thousands of SNCF employees were in action to repair the damage. "Today was supposed to be a big celebration, the vacation trips, the opening of the Olympic Games (...), all that is gone now," he explained.
The railway urged travelers not to attend planned trips for Friday. Tickets would be refunded. The railway traffic would be disrupted all weekend long, it was further stated.
Visitors to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, expected to number 326,000, and around one hundred state and government heads were also likely to be affected. The US men's basketball team, for example, had planned to travel to Lille by train to face Serbia on Sunday.
In Paris, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games takes place in the evening, with 326,000 spectators expected, including roughly one hundred state and government heads.
- The perpetrators, aiming to disrupt the rail network, needed to be familiar with its intricacies, as stated by Gabriel Attal.
- The French rail network, operated by SNCF, is extensive, stretching from Paris to Bordeaux and beyond, affecting millions of passengers.
- Sabotage at several locations along the TGV lines to Lille, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux disrupted the TGV service, causing delays and cancellations.
- The Transport Ministry's crisis center became a hub of activity with the Prime Minister and other officials coordinating efforts to restore rail service.
- In the afternoon, passengers at Montparnasse Station awaited information about their connections, having spent hours waiting due to the disruptions.
- The TGV line between Paris and Bordeaux was only operating at about one-third capacity, with numerous Eurostar connections from Paris to Brussels or London cancelled.
- The damaged power lines with Glass Fiber Cables played a crucial role in the safety of the trains and the switch positions, making their repair a significant challenge.
- Acts of sabotage are not uncommon, with past incidents occurring in January 2023 in France and September in Germany, causing similar disruptions to rail transport.
- On the opening day of the Olympic Games, planned train trips were affected, and around 326,000 visitors, plus 100 state and government heads, could be impacted.
- The US men's basketball team's train journey to Lille to face Serbia on Sunday was among the trips disrupted due to the sabotage and subsequent rail disruptions.
