Two trains carrying Olympic athletes to Paris on the western Atlantique line were stopped on Friday, France's rail company SNCF said. The development comes just hours before the opening ceremony of Olympics 2024.
The rail company said that one train was cancelled, while the authorities are hoping that the other would become operational.
France's high-speed train network experienced significant disruption early Friday due to a series of coordinated sabotage attacks across the country. These incidents have caused widespread travel chaos and highlighted potential security vulnerabilities.
The sabotage occurred amidst an extensive security operation mobilising tens of thousands of police and military personnel to safeguard Paris for the major sporting event, drawing security forces from across the nation.
SNCF reported that vandals targeted signal substations and cables on key routes connecting Paris with cities like Lille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg. An additional attempt to damage the Paris-Marseille line was prevented.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, security sources suggest the methods used point towards possible involvement by leftist militants or environmental activists, though no concrete evidence has surfaced yet.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said, "What we know, what we see, is that this operation was prepared, coordinated, that nerve centres were targeted, which shows a certain knowledge of the network to know where to strike."
Meanwhile, the SNCF has urged all travellers to postpone their journeys.
