France's high-speed train network paralysed by 'malicious acts'

Passengers gather around the departure and arrival boards at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on 26 July, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games. AFP - THIBAUD MORITZ

France's high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralysing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics.

France's TGV network was hit by "several simultaneous malicious acts overnight" train operator SNCF said Friday.

"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF said, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled and the situation would last "at least all weekend while repairs are conducted".

"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected Atlantic, northern and eastern lines was "heavily disrupted".

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on the social media platform X that France's intelligence services have been mobilised to find the perpetrators.

Attal characterized them as “acts of sabotage,” which were “prepared and coordinated".

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Some 800,000 passengers would be impacted, SNCF said.

Trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them", the statement said.

Several Eurostar trains between Paris and London were cancelled.

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SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.

The attack occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as Paris prepared for the Olympic Games' opening ceremony on Friday evening, with 7,500 athletes, 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs.

Many travellers were planning to converge on the capital for the ceremony, and vacationers were also in transit.

Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said authorities were working to “evaluate the impact on travellers, athletes, and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition sites” for the Olympics.

“Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your own camp, against your country,” she told BFM television.

(with newswires)