Three of France’s high-speed rail systems were hit with acts of “massive and serious” sabotage on Friday, disrupting travel across the country just hours before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to preliminary investigations, “the acts of sabotage were carried out in a prepared and coordinated manner,” consisting of attacks on multiple sites where railway cable clusters used for signaling were doused in fuel and set on fire. No injuries were reported during the incidents, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It is unclear whether the fires had any connection to the opening of the Games.
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“The investigation is starting, I call on everyone to be cautious,” said French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. “What we know, what we see, is that this operation was prepared, coordinated, that nerve centers were targeted, which shows a certain knowledge of the network to know where to strike.”
Tôt ce matin, des actes de sabotage ont été, de façon préparée et coordonnée, menés sur des installations de la SNCF.
Les conséquences sur le réseau ferroviaire sont massives et graves.
Je dis toute ma reconnaissance à nos pompiers qui sont intervenus sur les sites touchés et…
— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) July 26, 2024
With more than 800,000 people expected to arrive in Paris for the opening ceremony, the sabotaged rail lines will likely have a significant effect on travel plans. Multiple Olympic athletes are among those who have been delayed, including two trains full of competitors stopped along the western Atlantique line and two German athletes en route from Belgium.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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