By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
France Cancels Trains Amid Hunt for Vandals After Arson Attacks
Three out of 10 French high speed trains will be canceled on Saturday due to a series of "coordinated" arson attacks. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal stated that security forces are still searching for the "saboteurs" responsible for paralyzing rail networks just ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games.
The national rail company SNCF announced that services running on Saturday will face delays of up to two hours on major lines in and out of Paris. Additionally, a quarter of Eurostar services will be canceled. France's transport minister assured that services would return to normal by Monday morning. SNCF estimated that around 250,000 passengers were affected on Friday, with junior transport minister Patrice Vergriete predicting as many as 800,000 could be impacted over three days.
Eurostar, which operates international services from London to Paris using a high speed line in France, reported that one in four of its trains would not run over the weekend. Travelers have been advised to postpone their journeys, with disruptions expected to last until Monday.
Among those affected on Friday was Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had planned to travel to the Games' opening ceremony by train but was forced to fly instead.
SNCF reported that there has been no claim of responsibility for the damage. The company noted that its staff "worked all night under difficult conditions in the rain" to repair the damage. The "strategic" vandalism involved setting fire to cabling boxes at junctions on the North, Brittany, and South West lines just hours before the Olympics opening ceremony in the capital. Saboteurs cut and set fire to specialized fiber optic cables essential for the safe functioning of the rail network, according to government officials. A source linked to the investigation described the operation as "well prepared" and organized by "a single structure."
Rail workers managed to thwart an attempt to destroy safety equipment on a fourth line. A spokesman for the rail network stated on Saturday morning, "At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns."
