France’s high-speed rail network was struck by “malicious acts,” including arson attacks, which have disrupted services, SNCF reported Friday, just hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
An investigation source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that these attacks were coordinated acts of “sabotage.”
“This is a massive attack on a large scale intended to paralyze the TGV network,” SNCF said, adding that many routes would have to be canceled.
“SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight,” the national train operator said, noting that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern, and eastern lines.
“Arson attacks were launched to damage our facilities,” SNCF said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was “heavily disrupted” and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are made.
Trains were being diverted to different tracks, but “a large number of them will have to be canceled,” the statement said.
The southeastern line was unaffected as “a malicious act was foiled.”
SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and avoid train stations.
Olympics under heavy security
The attacks occurred as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, with 300,000 spectators and VIPs expected at the event.
The parade on Friday evening will feature up to 7,500 competitors traveling down a six-kilometer (four-mile) stretch of the River Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats.
It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with risk as France remains on high alert for terror attacks.
At Paris’s Montparnasse train station, dozens of passengers waited for more information about their trips after delays ranging from 30 minutes to almost two hours were announced.
“Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29,” read one of the signs in the departure hall.
“We arrived around 7:00 a.m., but we were told that we might not be able to leave before Monday,” said 27-year-old student Jocelyn, who had planned to travel to Bretagne and declined to provide her last name.
“We expected it to be a bit chaotic in Paris with the opening ceremony scheduled for this evening, but we didn’t think it could be this bad,” she said.
