Fibre-optic cables attacked by 'ultra-left' in lead up to Olympics opening ceremony

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has claimed attacks against France's high-speed rail network in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics were perpetrated by "ultra-left" operators, per AFP

Nicolas Chatin, spokesperson for SFP, one of the major rail operators attacked, told AFP, "Large sections of cables were cut. You would have to use an axe or a grinder."

A man was arrested in northern France with access keys to SNCF technical premises and "far-left" literature, an unnamed police source told AFP.

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Gerald Darmanin told France 2 television that the, "attacks were very intentional and well targeted," whilst the mode of the attacks were, "traditional mode of operation of the ultra-left".

Attacks on French infrastructure caused damage and delays to multiple French rail networks, with the attacks seemingly designed to disrupt the build-up to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Let's take a look at that happened.

Reports from France have emerged overnight regarding multiple “malicious” attacks on the French high-speed rail network, per CNN.

The state-owned railway operator SNCF claimed, “Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities,” leading to train traffic being, “heavily disrupted”.

Per France24, up to 800,000 passengers will have been affected by the disruption, with many of those attempting to make their way to Paris for the Olympic opening ceremony.

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Reports from France suggest the vandalism has been coordinated, with the SNCF describing the incident as, “a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV [high-speed rail] network”.

Such is the damage caused to the rail network, many trains have been “diverted or cancelled,” per a post by SNCF on X (formerly Twitter).

The Eurostar service between London and Paris has also been affected by the vandalism.

Eurostar released a statement saying, “Due to coordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July. This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half”.

Per France24, one act of vandalism was stopped on the southeastern branch of the line, with the SNCF claiming, “a malicious act was foiled”.

Speaking to a CNN affiliate, BFMTV, The French Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castera claimed, “Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your camp, against your country”.

Despite the best efforts of rail workers, delays and issues to the train lines are expected all weekend, causing major disruption to Olympic spectators.

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