What we know about French rail network attack before Olympics opening

Travelers wait outside a train station in Bordeaux, France.

Associated Press

July 26, 2024 10:51 AM PT

PARIS — French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours before the 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony after a series of coordinated “malicious acts” upended high-speed rail service.

Officials said the arson attacks and other vandalism on the rail system were a form of sabotage on a pivotal day for the Games. There was no sign of a direct connection to the Olympics, but authorities are investigating.

Travel for hundreds of thousands of travelers was disrupted on the rail system linking Paris to the rest of France and to neighboring countries. No injuries have been reported.

Here is what we know:

What happened to the rail network?

Details were still emerging, but officials say that there were arson attacks and other “criminal acts” of vandalism.

Authorities said three fires were reported before dawn near the tracks on high-speed lines, triggering disruptions especially affecting Paris’ Montparnasse station.

“Everything indicates that these are criminal fires,” Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said intelligence services are trying to find the perpetrators of “acts of sabotage” that he called “prepared and coordinated.”

They happened against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures in Paris as the city prepared for the Summer Olympic Games.

Paris prosecutors said they had launched investigations into the crimes, including property damage threatening the nation’s “fundamental interests,” that could carry 10- to 20-year prison sentences.

Jean-Pierre Farandou, chief executive of the French rail company SNCF, said the vandalism showed “a desire to seriously harm” the French and that their nature implied “a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack.”

He said the fires were predominantly set in pipes containing critical signaling cables, requiring meticulous, cable-by-cable repair.

How will the attacks affect the Olympics?

French trains and the larger transport system faced delays, with some trips taking hours longer than they normally do or halted altogether.

Two out of four trains carrying Olympic athletes to Paris on the western Atlantique high-speed line were immobilized, an SNCF official said.

Two German equestrian athletes — Philipp Weishaupt and Christian Kukuk — said they were missing the opening ceremony because of the lengthy delay, German news agency DPA reported.

“It’s a real shame, but we would have arrived too late,” Weishaupt said. “There was no longer a chance of making it on time.”

However, Vergriete, the transport minister, said train traffic was starting to resume in the afternoon, especially on the Atlantique line, which had been completely halted.

The delays rippled out internationally to stations in London. Many travelers were planning to converge on Paris for the opening ceremony, and many vacationers — including Parisians hoping to escape the Olympics — were also in transit.

SNCF advised passengers to postpone their journeys and avoid going to stations, saying all tickets were exchangeable and refundable.

Who is behind the sabotage?

So far, French authorities have not said who is suspected of plotting and executing the arson attacks.

Asked whether they could be linked to Russia, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said “maybe,” adding that the attacks could also have been homegrown. She called them “malicious acts.”

Other French officials said it was too early to say whether there is any Russian connection.

The reason people are asking that question is that French officials and cybersecurity experts in the U.S. and Europe have identified an intensifying effort from Russia to undermine France, particularly the Olympic Games, and President Emmanuel Macron, who is one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters in Europe.

Also, French authorities have foiled several plots to disrupt the Olympics, including arresting a Russian man this week on suspicion of planning to destabilize the Games.

How important are the Games to Paris?

The train disruptions mark a rocky start to the biggest event France has ever organized. The Olympics are a pivotal moment for Macron, who is facing political turmoil after recent legislative elections.

Macron welcomed over 110 heads of state and government for Friday’s opening ceremony and championed a summit a day earlier where world and business leaders pledged billions in financing to support sporting initiatives aimed at accelerating sustainable development.

The Olympics are the best way to convince the world to “choose France,” Macron said this week, trotting out a motto geared toward boosting foreign investment in the country. “It will promote our landscapes, our facilities, our savoir faire as well, our gastronomy.”

Friday’s grandiose opening ceremony was set to welcome the world, but the train line failures and expected storms appear to be raining on Macron’s parade.