Hours before the Paris Olympics opened, on Friday, train operator SNCF announced that malevolent acts, including arson, had targeted France’s high-speed rail network, causing disruptions to the transportation system.
AFP was informed by a person close to the inquiry that the strikes were planned acts of sabotage. According to SNCF, the TGV network was the target of a significant attack on a wide scale, and many lines would have to be canceled as a result.
The national train operator reported that many criminal activities occurred simultaneously against SNCF overnight, affecting the company’s Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern lines.
It stated, “Arson attacks were started to destroy our facilities,” and that there would be significant disruptions to traffic on the impacted lines.Shortly before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, on Friday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete called the enormous attack against France’s high-speed train network a “outrageous criminal act”.
According to Vergriete, there would be “very serious consequences” for rail traffic throughout the weekend, with connections to northern, eastern, and northwest France being cut in half. Jean-Pierre Farandou, the chief executive of rail operator SNCF, stated that 800,000 passengers would be impacted.
The announcement stated, “Trains were diverted to different tracks, but many of them will need to be canceled.”
