Hours before the opening ceremony of Paris Olympic Games 2024, France's high-speed rail network has been hit by "malicious acts", including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said on Friday, July 26. (More Sports News)
"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled and the situation would last "at least all weekend while repairs are conducted".
The national train operator said that it was the victim of "several simultaneous malicious acts overnight,” adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines.
“Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities,” it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was “heavily disrupted”.
The statement further mentioned that trains were being diverted to different tracks “but we will have to cancel a large number of them.”
The southeastern line was not affected as “a malicious act was foiled”. In light of the attacks, SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
The Paris 2024 Games are already being considered as the highest-risk Olympics of all time, what with the political tension following a hung parliament in France and bloodshed in Gaza and Ukraine. The recent assassination attempt against Donald Trump has also highlighted how hosting such a large-scale event is fraught with risk.
The attack is the latest scare in a series of terror-related instances coming to the fore. Three days back, a 40-year-old Russian man was arrested in Paris on suspicion of planning to “destabilize the Olympic Games.”
On the same day, France interior minister Gerald Darmanin said in an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV that a young man was arrested in Gironde, a region in southwest France, on suspicion of “planning a violent action against the Olympic Games.” Another man was nabbed in the French town of Saint-Etienne in May, suspected of plotting a terror attack in the name of Islamic State at the city's football stadium.
Around 45,000 security personnel have been deployed for the opening ceremony on the Seine River, but the arson attack targeting the train network is sure to set the alarm bells ringing in the Games Village and beyond.
