Arson attacks hit Paris railway hours before Olympics opening ceremony

By Bill CareyFireRescue1

PARIS — France’s high-speed rail network faced widespread vandalism and arson on July 26, paralyzing travel to Paris from across France and Europe, the Associated Press reported.

The disruption also hindered Olympic athletes’ travel just hours before the opening ceremony for the Games.

French officials condemned the attacks as “criminal actions,” but said there was no sign of a direct link to the Games, according to the Associated Press.

Three fires near the tracks on the high-speed lines Atlantique, Nord and Est disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said intelligence services are working to find those behind the “acts of sabotage” which Attal described as “prepared and coordinated.”

SNCF railway CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou described the arson attacks as “a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack” intended to seriously harm the French people.

Farandou said night shift railway workers thwarted a sabotage attempt on tracks southeast of Paris by spotting intruders and alerting police. The suspects fled quickly when noticed, the Associated Press reported.