Hours before the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris, the high-speed train operation was disrupted due to a suspected arson attack.
According to BBC, a series of fires hit the French high-speed rail lines on Friday, July 26, which disrupted the train operations of some of the busiest lines ahead of the Summer Olympic Games opening event.
SNCF, the state-owned railway operator, has said that it is a ‘massive attack aimed to paralyse the networks.
As per SNCF signals, boxes alongside the rail lines that connect Paris with major cities to the east, north, and southwest were damaged during the arson attack.
Moreover, the rail firm asserted that over 800,000 people would be affected by the disruption expected all weekend.
Olympic President on French Rail Lines Attack
The incident took place just a few hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024. It is the first time that the opening ceremony is not taking place inside the stadium; instead, it will be held along the Seine River.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach told the media at the Olympic Athletes' Village, “I don't have concerns. We have full confidence in the French authorities."
French Sports Minister Calls Rail Lines Attack 'Attack on Games'
The French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra called a rail sabotage attack on ‘the athletes’ game.’
He said, “These games are for the athletes who have been dreaming of them for years and fighting for the holy grail of standing on the podium, and someone's sabotaging that for them.”
