Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed train ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris

PARIS (AP) — Arsonists attacked France’s high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing train traffic to Paris for some 800,000 people across Europe, including athletes on their way to the opening ceremony the Olympic Games.

The apparently coordinated attacks targeted remote locations far from the capital and aimed to cut off rail links to the city from all directions. The fires were set primarily in pipes containing vital signal cables for the system known as the TGV.

Before dawn, fires were reported near the tracks on three different lines, causing widespread disruption. Another arson attempt to the south at Vergigny was foiled by railway officials who chased away several suspects.

French authorities have not commented publicly on who might have carried out the attacks or why. None of them said the sabotage was directly linked to the Games.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said intelligence services had been mobilized to find the arsonists, whose attacks he described as “deliberate” and “calculated.”

The evidence pointed to “a desire to cause serious harm to the French population,” said Jean-Pierre Farandou, head of the state railway company SNCF. “The locations were specifically chosen to have the most serious impact, since each fire paralyzed two tracks.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the damage would not affect the opening ceremony. There were no reports of injuries.

Prosecutors in Paris launched a nationwide investigation, saying the crimes included property damage that threatened the country’s “fundamental interests” and could carry prison sentences of up to 20 years.

The unrest occurred ahead of the opening ceremony, in which 7,000 Olympic athletes were scheduled to sail on the Seine past famous Parisian monuments such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay.

“The disruption of such a peace festival through acts of violence can never be accepted and must be rejected most emphatically,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris.

Two of four trains carrying athletes to Paris on the western route were stopped hours before the opening ceremony, an SNCF official said.

Two German athletes who were on a train to Paris for the opening ceremony had to turn back because of the closures in Belgium, the German news agency dpa reported.

While police conducted forensic investigations, repair work was carried out. “We have to repair cable by cable, so this is very meticulous work,” Farandou said.

French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said train services had resumed in the afternoon.

The attack occurred against the backdrop of global tensions and increased security measures while the city prepared for the games.

French authorities said they had foiled several plans to disrupt the Olympic Games, including Arrest of a Russian on suspicion of planning to destabilize the games.

Earlier this week, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that about 1,000 people suspected of interfering in the Games on behalf of a foreign power had been barred from taking part in the Games. Among those barred are people suspected of Islamic radicalization or left or right political extremism, or who have significant criminal records, he said.

Although he has repeatedly raised suspicions of Russian-backed interference, Darmanin added that such threats have also come from other countries, whose names he did not mention.

The Paris police prefecture had “concentrated its staff in the train stations” after the attack, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told the television channel France Info.

In the capital, 35,000 police officers are on duty every day for the Olympic Games, and up to 45,000 are on duty during the opening ceremony.

Paris is the destination of deadly terrorist attacks in the last decade, and some French officials viewed the Games as a chance for the nation to heal from years of trauma.

The disruptions hit Paris’ Montparnasse train station particularly hard.

According to Maiwenn Labbé-Sorin, she was stuck for hours in the crowded station hall on a train heading back to Paris.

“We were without water, without toilets, without electricity for two hours,” she said. “Then we were able to go onto the tracks for a short time and then the train came back. Now I’m not sure what will happen.”

Many passengers at Gare du Nord, one of Europe’s busiest railway stations, were searching for answers and solutions on Friday morning. All eyes were on the central display boards as most connections to northern France, Belgium and the UK were delayed.

Deutsche Bahn also reported that there were short-term cancellations and delays between France and Germany.

Famous French cartoonist Plantu was inspired by the railway network’s quick response. He posted a cartoon on Instagram showing the first three Olympic gold medals going to SNCF employees. Three employees were sketched on the Olympic podium, holding cables and trains and dangling gold medallions around their necks.

Also on Friday, the French airport Basel-Mulhouse on the border with Germany and Switzerland was evacuated in the morning and temporarily closed “for security reasons,” the airport said. It is unclear whether there is a connection with the train attacks.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Nouvian, Angela Charlton and Masha Macpherson in Paris, James Jordan and Danica Kirka in London and Samuel Petrequin in Brussels contributed to this report.