Paris
CNN
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France’s high-speed rail lines were targeted by a number of “malicious” acts, including arson on Friday, which amounted to an “attack on France” and “Coordinated Sabotage” to disrupt travel ahead of the opening ceremony Paris Olympics.
In a post on French state railway company SNCF X, it said “most trains have been diverted or cancelled” and asked “all passengers to postpone their journeys and not go to the station”. Its services partially resumed on Friday afternoon, although widespread disruption continued.
No one has claimed responsibility for these attacks, but given their scale and precision, it is clear that they were not random acts of destruction.
An intelligence source told CNN that French intelligence services are “fully mobilized” to find those responsible. “These methods have been used by the far left in the past” but “there is no evidence to link today’s activities to them,” the source added.
The operator said the Atlantic, North and East high-speed lines were affected and several of its facilities were damaged, and an operation in the east was “failed” after SNCF agents scared off several people. The Atlantic line serves the west and southwest of France from Paris, the northern line takes passengers from the French capital to Lille and the eastern line travels from Paris to Strasbourg.
SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou told reporters on Friday that the cables – meant to ensure the safety of train drivers – were set on fire, but officials “don’t know who is behind it”.
But according to Axel Persson, head of the CGT rail union, someone with “precise information” may have been behind the attack.
He told CNN that it could be due to a railway worker or industrial espionage, but underlined that one of the attacks was foiled thanks to railway workers.
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The Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the attack and four separate charges, including damage to state property and participation in organized crime. Some of the listed offenses are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to €300,000 ($325,000). Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Friday afternoon that he was not aware of any arrests so far.
Following emergency repairs, most trains on the eastern network were running about an hour late on Friday afternoon, but only a third were running on the Atlantic side, regional SNCF director Frank Dubourdieu told a press conference.
SNCF estimated disruptions – which could affect around 250,000 passengers today – are expected throughout the weekend, affecting 800,000 passengers as work crews oversee repairs.
Commuters wandered outside Paris’s Gare du Nord train station and sat with their luggage on the stairs, disrupting their travel plans. Francois, 80, from La Rochelle, went home after medical treatment in Paris and tried to return to his nurse.
He told CNN he was preparing to wait another five hours in hopes of catching a train. “We don’t need a day like this!” she said.
Meanwhile, a couple stranded at Gare Montparnasse were forced to watch their friends’ wedding ceremony by phone on Friday. According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, Alexandre and Camille had hoped to reach the western city of Poitiers for the civil ceremony, but because they could not afford to rent a car, they saw each other via video call. They could go to Poitiers for a secular ceremony at the weekend, Alexandre added.
“I don’t know where to go. I only came here to change trains,” Marguerite, a 24-year-old professor, told CNN at Gare Montparnasse as she tried to get to her home in Brittany, northwest France. “I’m trying to call friends to see where I can sleep tonight … we’re blocked here.”
Two trains carrying Olympic athletes were also affected. “Only two of the four Olympic trains have been able to run, one has been canceled and the third is being prepared,” Duporteau told reporters.
Repair work should take at least a day, but could take longer on the Atlantic line, Duporteau said, adding that the company is trying to get cables from all over France.
Mark Baker/AP
A passenger waits inside the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on July 26.
Farandu explained that the faulty cables should be tested by pulling and reconnecting them one by one. “It’s a question of safety,” he said. “We need to make sure we test them, so when the trains are running again, they’re safe.”
Eurostar, the high-speed rail service linking the UK to France, is canceling a quarter of its trains this weekend due to “concerted acts of evil” on French routes. It is encouraging customers to postpone their journey if possible, it said in a statement.
The incidents happened hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics 320,000 visitors are expected To join the river Seine. The opening ceremony took place later on Friday, and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach told reporters he had “full confidence” in French authorities and the security protocols already in place.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
SNCF railway workers and police officers work at the scene of looters targeting France’s high-speed rail network in Croiselles, France, on Friday, July 26.
Speaking to BFMTV, Oudea-Castera condemned the attacks in “the strongest possible terms” and said it was “truly horrific”.
French Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games Minister Amelie Odia-Castera said the rail disruption was “a form of concerted vandalism”.
“We will assess the impact on passengers, athletes and ensure proper transportation of all delegates to the competition venues,” he said.
Other French officials admitted the attacks were deliberate. Attal said the incidents were “prepared and orchestrated” in a way that “shows a kind of knowledge of the network to know where to strike”, while SNCF called the disruptions “an attack on France”.
Vald’Yerre/Franck Marchand/Facebook/Reuters Mayor
Damaged cables lie near Courtelaine, France, near where looters targeted France’s high-speed rail network on July 26.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on Friday that police are increasing security and manpower at the capital’s train stations in response to the attacks.
Security has been tightened in Paris in recent weeks.
France plans to deploy around 35,000 police each day during the Games, peaking at 45,000 for the opening ceremony, a spokesman for the French interior ministry said. previously told CNN. In addition, 10,000 soldiers will be deployed in the Paris region – an effort supported by 1,800 police officers from around the world.
Nicolas Nordmann, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of security, recently told CNN that officials have been working for months to anticipate what will happen and are confident the festival will be safe.
IOC President Pak said intelligence agencies of other countries are also involved in the security of the Games.
“The French authorities are assisted by 180 intelligence services around the world. Not only with information, some of them also use their human resources, so we have good reason to be fully confident,” he said.
Civil unrest is on the rise in France, driven in part by recent national elections that saw a battle between the left and far right.
Home Minister Dharmanin confirmed this week that security forces had detained a “far-right member” who was “suspected of wanting to engage in violent activity during the Olympics”. According to Dorman, the man had “the intent to interfere at some point in the torch relay.”
At the same time, France is among several European countries hit by a wave of attacks linked by authorities to Russia. They include arson and vandalism against infrastructure. Russia has not responded to the allegations.
Earlier this week, French authorities detained a Russian citizen in Paris, accusing him of preparing disruptive events during the Olympics. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no information about the arrestee.
This story has been updated with additional information.
