Summer Olympics Attacks on the French rail network before the opening of the Olympics
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal speaks with security forces of the French railroad SNCF.
Image: Keystone
Up to 800,000 SNCF passengers are thought to have been affected by the suspected attacks on the rail network, here at Montparnasse station in Paris.
Image: Keystone
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal speaks with security forces of the French railroad SNCF.
Image: Keystone
Up to 800,000 SNCF passengers are thought to have been affected by the suspected attacks on the rail network, here at Montparnasse station in Paris.
Image: Keystone
A few hours before the opening of the Summer Olympics in Paris, attacks were carried out on the French rail network across the country on Friday. No one was injured. However, more than 800,000 rail travelers are likely to be affected by restrictions.
Express train services on the Atlantic, northern and eastern axis are currently severely affected, according to the French state railroad SNCF. Around one in four connections to Bordeaux were canceled. The railroad called on passengers not to travel on Friday. Repairs have already begun. However, the restrictions could last the whole weekend.
According to initial information, several systems outside Paris are affected, which have an impact on the busy TGV routes. Another suspected act of sabotage on the route to Marseille was prevented.
Fiber optic cable lines set on fire
At the locations concerned, numerous fiber optic cables, which are important for the safety of the trains and the points, were set on fire.
The route to the Stade de France in the north of Paris - where rugby matches and athletics competitions take place - was also out of action on Friday morning. However, direct restrictions on the sporting events were limited because there is no training or competition on the program on Friday.
The train cancellations in the neighboring country had no impact on rail traffic in Switzerland on Friday morning, as SBB informed the news agency Keystone-SDA on request. SBB did not say whether it had taken special security precautions in view of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Government: coordinated sabotage
Secret services and security forces have been mobilized "to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts", declared Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Several ministers also condemned the attacks. Acting Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera spoke "with caution and after initial analysis" of a kind of coordinated sabotage. "Everything indicates that these were deliberate actions," said Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete.
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics will take place in Paris this evening with almost 70,000 athletes and 326,000 spectators expected, including around one hundred heads of state and government, including the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd.
The event will be secured by around 45,000 security personnel. The airspace within a radius of 150 kilometers around Paris will be closed for the evening. The areas of the Seine where the parade is taking place are closed to car traffic across a wide area
