Paris
CNN
—
France’s high-speed railway was the target of several “malicious” acts on Friday, including arson, in what was described as an “attack on France” and “an act of coordinated sabotage” aimed at disrupting traffic ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
“Numerous trains have been diverted or cancelled,” French national rail company SNCF said in a post on X, and urged “all travellers who are able to do so to postpone their journey and avoid going to train stations.” Services had partially resumed by Friday afternoon, but widespread disruptions remained.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but its scale and precision make it clear that it was more than just random vandalism.
A source told CNN that French intelligence services are “fully mobilised” to hunt for the perpetrators, adding that “these tactics have been used by far-left elements in the past” but there is “no evidence to link today’s actions to that.”
The company said its Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines were affected, damaging several properties. It added that the attack in the east had been “thwarted” after SNCF staff threatened several people. The Atlantic line runs from Paris to the west and southwest of France, the Northern line runs from the French capital to Lille and the Eastern line runs from Paris to Strasbourg.
SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou told reporters on Friday that cables meant to ensure the safety of train drivers had been set on fire and cut, but that authorities “don’t know who is behind it.”
But Axel Persson, leader of the CGT rail union, said it was likely someone with very “precise intelligence” was behind the attack.
He told CNN that either rail workers or industrial espionage could be to blame, but stressed that one of the attacks was thwarted thanks to rail workers.
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Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack, detailing four charges related to damage to state property and links to organized crime. Some of the charges listed could carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros ($325,000). Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Friday afternoon that no arrests had been made so far.
SNCF regional director Franck Dubourdieu told a news conference that as a result of emergency repairs, most trains on eastern lines had resumed service by Friday afternoon with delays of around an hour, but only a third of trains were running on the Atlantic side.
SNCF added that disruptions were expected throughout the weekend as workers oversaw repairs, potentially affecting 800,000 passengers. SNCF estimates that around 250,000 travellers could be affected today.
Passengers milled around outside Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, sitting with their luggage on the steps, with travel plans upended by the chaos, including Françoise, an 80-year-old from La Rochelle, who had been trying to return home to her nurse after treatment in Paris.
She told CNN she planned to wait another five hours in the desperate hope of catching a train. “I didn’t need this day!” she said.
Meanwhile, a couple stranded at Montparnasse train station could only watch a friend’s wedding on Friday via phone. Alexandre and Camille had hoped to travel to the western city of Poitiers for a civil ceremony but were unable to rent a car, so they watched via video call, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. Alexandre added that they should be able to travel to Poitiers over the weekend for a secular ceremony.
“I don’t know where to go. I’ve only come here to change trains,” Marguerite, a 24-year-old professor, told CNN at Montparnasse train station as she was heading to her home in Brittany, northwest France. “I’m trying to call a friend to see where I can stay tonight… but this is a dead end.”
Two trains carrying Olympic athletes were also affected. “Of the four Olympic trains, only two were able to run, one was cancelled and the third is currently being prepared,” Dubourdieu told reporters.
Dubourdieu said the repair work should take at least a day but could take longer on the Atlantic line because the company is trying to source cables from across France.
Mark Baker/AP
Travelers wait inside Paris’ Gare du Nord station on July 26.
Farandou explained that each damaged cable would need to be pulled, reconnected and tested. “This is a safety issue,” he said. “We need to make sure we test it to make sure it’s safe when trains start running again.”
Eurostar, the high-speed train service connecting Britain with France, is cancelling a quarter of its trains this weekend due to “malicious and coordinated activity” on its French routes, and urging passengers to postpone travel if possible in a statement.
The incidents occurred hours before the start of the Olympics’ opening ceremony, which was expected to draw more than 320,000 spectators along the Seine. The ceremony took place late Friday, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told reporters he had “full confidence” in the French authorities and the security protocols already in place.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
SNCF rail workers and police officers work at the scene of destruction on France’s high-speed rail network in Croisilles, France, Friday, July 26.
Oudea Castella told BFMTV he condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”, describing it as “truly terrible”.
Amélie Oudea-Castellas, France’s minister for sport, the Olympics and the Paralympics, said the disruption of train services was “a form of organised sabotage”.
“We want to assess the impact on travellers and athletes and ensure that all delegations can travel appropriately to competition venues,” she said.
Other French officials have also acknowledged that the attack was deliberate: Attal said the incident was “prepared and orchestrated in a way that indicates some kind of knowledge of the network to know where to attack,” and SNCF called the disruption an “attack on France.”
Mayor of Valdières/Franck Marchand/Facebook/Reuters
The damaged cable lies near Courtallan, France, near the site of the destruction of France’s high-speed rail network on July 26.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on Friday that police had stepped up security and concentrated resources at the capital’s train stations following the attack.
Security in Paris has already been stepped up in recent weeks.
A spokesman for the French Interior Ministry previously told CNN that France plans to deploy around 35,000 police officers every day during the Olympics, peaking at 45,000 for the opening ceremony, adding that 10,000 soldiers would be deployed to the Paris region, supported by 1,800 police officers from around the world.
Nicolas Nordmann, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of security, recently told CNN that authorities have been working for months to try to predict what might happen and that they are confident the ceremony will be safe.
IOC President Thomas Bach said foreign intelligence services were also involved in security at the Olympics.
“French authorities are supported by 180 intelligence agencies from around the world, some of which provide not only intelligence but also human resources, so they have every reason to have complete confidence in them,” he said.
France is facing growing unrest in the country following a recent general election that saw a battle between the left and the far right.
Interior Minister Darmanin confirmed that security forces this week had detained a “far-right member suspected of plotting acts of violence during the Olympics”, who he said had “intended to intervene during the torch relay”.
At the same time, France has been one of many European countries affected by a series of attacks that authorities have linked to Russia, including arson and vandalism of infrastructure. Russia has not responded to these allegations.
French authorities detained a Russian national in Paris earlier this week for allegedly organizing destabilizing events during the Olympics. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no information about the arrest.
This story has been updated with additional information.
