France's Railway line ‘Coordinated sabotage’ impedes Paris Olympics opening ceremony

In what has been termed "an attack on France" and "coordinated sabotage," several "malicious" acts, including fire, targeted France's high-speed train lines on Friday in an attempt to impede traffic ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

"A large number of trains were diverted or canceled," the French state railway corporation SNCF stated in a post on X, requesting "all travelers who can to postpone their trip and not go to the station." Although there was still significant disruption, its services had partially resumed by Friday afternoon.

Although no one has taken credit for the attacks, it is obvious that they are more than just infrequent vandalism given their scope and accuracy. 

French intelligence services are "fully mobilized" to identify individuals involved, an intelligence source told CNN. The source went on to say that although the far-left has historically employed these strategies, "there is no evidence to tie today's actions to them."

The operator said that some of its facilities were damaged and that the high-speed lines in the Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern regions were affected. It also added that one of the acts in the Eastern region was "foiled" after SNCF officials chased off a number of people. The Northern line transports passengers from the French capital to Lille, the Eastern line travels from Paris to Strasbourg, and the Atlantic line serves the west and southwest of France. 

The cables, which are meant to protect train drivers, were set on fire and torn apart, but officials "don't know who is behind it," SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou informed reporters on Friday.

However according to CGT train union leader Axel Persson, the attack was probably carried out by someone with very "precise information."