France's high-speed railway network hit by ‘acts of sabotage’ hours before Paris Olympics opening ceremony
On the day of the highly anticipated Paris Olympics' opening ceremony, France's high-speed railway network was disrupted after a series of “malicious acts” by arsonists on Friday.
The country's prime minister Gabriel Attal characterized the incidents as "acts of sabotage" and stated on social media platform X:
"Early this morning, acts of sabotage were carried out in a prepared and coordinated manner on SNCF installations. The consequences on the rail network are massive and serious."
Meanwhile, the state-owned railway operator SNCF provided further details of the attack in a statement (via Indian Express), reporting the multiple acts of vandalism overnight on the Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern high-speed lines, where fires were intentionally set to damage their facilities. They urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
The French PM underlined in his statement on social media that the intelligence services are working on identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the criminal acts.
"Our intelligence services and law enforcement are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts."
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility from any groups or no indication of a politically charged attack.
With wars raging across the globe and intensifying political tensions, the Paris Olympics had ominous clouds of security concerns months before the event. However, with such criminal acts surfacing on the opening ceremony day, hosting a safe event is becoming an impeccable challenge for the country.
Hosts France have prepared unprecedented security for the Paris Olympics 2024
The Olympics is the grandest sporting extravaganza, and the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will feature over 10,500 athletes, over 300,000 ticketed spectators, and an audience of VIPs. Furthermore, instead of being held in a stadium, the ceremony will be held in the open, along the River Seine.
According to Al Jazeera, more than 45,000 police officers, 10,000 soldiers, and 2,000 private security agents have been deployed, along with snipers on rooftops and drones keeping watch from above.
During the games, a total of 45,000 police officers will be used, along with 18,000 military personnel and around 20,000 people from private security firms, Sky News reported.