A far-left group has claimed responsibility for arson attacks in Paris that paralysed the country’s rail network just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Just hours before the big parade on the River Seine on Friday night, fires broke out at key locations, halting trains and affecting around 800,000 passengers, including athletes and spectators heading to the Games.
Preliminary evidence from the investigation showed that strategic points of the network were targeted, which investigators say indicates the perpetrators had detailed knowledge of the network.
French intelligence services and police were busy trying to track down the perpetrators of the sabotage, until several French and international media received an email on Saturday from a far-left group calling itself “an unknown delegation” and claiming responsibility for the attacks, according to The Parisian.
The anonymous activists said in the email: “They call it a party? We see it as a celebration of nationalism, a gigantic staging of the subjugation of populations by states.”
SNCF employees and French gendarmes inspect the scene of a suspected attack on the high-speed rail network in Croiselles, northern France on July 26, 2024
French soldiers patrol outside Gare du Nord station in Paris after a ‘coordinated’ attack on rail infrastructure on Friday
Paris train station is packed with passengers as France’s high-speed TGV network was severely disrupted by what officials described as “criminal actions” ahead of the Olympic Games
Although the email contained the domain name Rise Up, a name often used by radical environmental or anarchist groups, it is unclear who exactly is behind the email and whether they are actually responsible for the arsons.
The methods used to carry out the massive “coordinated arson” on railway facilities across the country resemble those used by such radical groups in the past, a security source claimed on Friday.
As international tourism in France was further disrupted, a French-Swiss airport was temporarily evacuated for security reasons.
EuroAirport, located on the French side of the border near Basel, reported on its website that it had reopened and was gradually resuming flight operations.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told reporters it was “sabotage” after meeting with Spanish King Felipe VI on Friday.
“What happened is unacceptable, but it will not affect tonight’s ceremony as it will not affect public transport in the Île-de-France region,” she added.
Friday’s disruption came just hours before the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, with many opening ceremony ticket holders desperately trying to attend the show.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said he had “full confidence in the French authorities” after the attacks.
Photos show chaos at train stations across Paris, with travellers trying to travel from London to the French capital stranded at St Pancras.
The Gare du Nord, the main Eurostar station in Paris, was hit by attacks on the rail network during the night from Thursday to Friday, a spokesman for the French railway company SNCF said.
As a result, several services were cancelled, including those bringing sports fans from London to the French capital.
Officials said on Friday that a series of “coordinated malicious actions” have affected “numerous stations”, causing services to be cancelled or delayed across France.
SNCF employees inspect the scene of a suspected attack on the high-speed network in Croiselles, northern France, on July 26, 2024
Passengers at Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean station after threats against France’s high-speed TGV network, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Passengers queue at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras station in central London on Friday
Passengers wait for their train at Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024, as France’s high-speed rail network is hit by malicious acts that disrupt the transportation system.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the consequences of the attacks on the rail network were “enormous and serious” and thanked firefighters for putting out the fires.
He added that “intelligence services and law enforcement are being mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts.”
Jean-Pierre Farandou, director of France’s SNCF railway company, called it a “sad day” because families would be the hardest hit by what he called the attacks by “irresponsible madmen”.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said the “criminal actions will jeopardise the holidays of many French people.”
They focused on the high-speed TGV network, which covers the whole of France and is particularly busy at this time of year.
The first fire was discovered early Friday morning near a railway track in Courtalain, in the Eure-et-Loir department.
It caused a traffic jam on the busy Atlantique high-speed line.
SNCF also spoke of a “malicious act” on the high-speed line between Lille and Paris, in the northern part of Arras.
The TGV Inoui and Ouigo trains were diverted to conventional lines, resulting in cancellations and significantly longer journey times.
There was a huge crowd at major Parisian stations, such as Montparnasse, where all trains to and from nearby cities, such as Tours and Le Mans, were cancelled.
An SNCF spokesman said it was the victim of “a massive arson attack aimed at paralysing the TGV network”
He said the disruption would last ‘at least the entire weekend’ and would have a knock-on effect across the network.
A French gendarme walks on a platform near an InOui TGV high-speed train at Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024
Travelers are stuck at Paris’ Gare du Nord train station just hours before the grand opening ceremony
Passengers gather around departure boards at Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024, as France’s high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts that disrupted the transport system, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
People walk in front of the canteen of the Olympic Village at the Athletes Village of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Saint Denis, France on Tuesday. The Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024 in Paris
Olympic organisers have long feared sabotage attacks against the multi-billion dollar Games. A large-scale £350m security operation has been launched in Paris to counter the threats.
The largest peacetime deployment of troops in France’s history includes some 75,000 soldiers, police officers and private security guards.
“We are focused and ready,” said General Lionel Catar, one of the military planners before the spectacular opening.
The priority was to protect the approximately 80,000 participants as they sailed down the Seine in dozens of barges, in front of some 350,000 spectators and a television audience of more than a billion people.
Gérald Darmanin of the French Interior Ministry said that “the terrorist threat remains high” and that “a high level of vigilance” remains essential.
