‘Coordinated sabotage’ cripples France’s rail network hours before Olympics Opening Ceremony

SNCF railway workers and police officers work at the site where vandals targeted France’s high-speed train network with a series of coordinated actions that brought major disruption, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, in Croisilles, northern France, July 26, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

France’s high-speed rail network suffered a “massive attack aimed at paralyzing the network,” the French national state-owned railway company SNCF stated Friday morning, with the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris set to start in the evening.

Deliberate arson attacks damaged three points on high-speed lines running west, north, and east of Paris, with a fourth attack on the line running south toward the Mediterranean being thwarted.

The attacks caused serious damage that isn’t expected to be repaired until after the weekend. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the “acts of sabotage” were carried out “in a planned and coordinated manner.”

Train cancellations and hours-long delays caused chaos across France, which by noon began to spill over into neighboring Germany. The German railway company warned of delays caused by the disruptions in France.

Gare de Montparnasse train station in Paris is crowded with passengers on July 26, 2024, as France’s high-speed TGV network was severely disrupted by what officials described as “criminal actions” ahead of the Paris Olympic opening ceremony later in the day. (Photo: Kyodo)

Travel to and from London was also affected through the English Channel tunnel, as well as in neighboring Belgium.

The president of SNCF told French news outlet BFMTV that 800,000 railway customers have been affected so far.

“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Israeli Foreign Minister Katz wrote on 𝕏.

French officials have so far not confirmed a link to terrorism or the Iranian regime, only stating that the attacks were being investigated.

“As I warned my French counterpart Stephan Sejourne this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now – before it’s too late,” Katz wrote.

Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said French authorities were working to “evaluate the impact on travelers, athletes, and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition sites” for the Olympics.

“Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your own camp, against your country,” she told French TV, without pointing to a suspect.

The head of the Paris police told the media last week that Islamist terrorism is the main security concern for French authorities.

Last Sunday, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) advised Israeli nationals traveling to the Olympic Games to exercise increased caution due to escalating anti-Israel threats.

The NSC said it believes global jihadist and Iran-backed terror organizations seek “to carry out attacks on Israeli/Jewish targets around the Olympics.”

The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26 to Aug. 11 and are the largest event ever held in France, according to the official website.

Approximately 10,500 athletes, including the Israeli delegation, will compete in 35 venues for the coveted gold medals in 32 sports.

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