Vandalism hits French telecommunications network after arson attacks at train stations

Marina Ferrari, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, said there had been isolated outages in the French telecommunications network due to damage that occurred overnight in several regions.

There may be local problems with fiber optic, landline and mobile services as operators work on repairs, Ferrari said on the social media platform X.

“I strongly condemn these cowardly and irresponsible actions,” she said in a statement, according to a translation by CNBC.

It was not immediately clear whether vandalism of the telecommunications network was related to the damage and arson to the rail network last week.

To pre-empt any suspicion, the Kremlin on Monday rejected all suggestions that Russia was involved in Friday’s train attack. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such claims “fake news,” the state news agency Tass reported.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in an interview with France 2 television that his ministry had identified the profiles of several people linked to the railway attack, according to a translation by France 24. Darmanin said the “deliberate, very precise” nature of the action carried out was generally associated with far-left activists – without mentioning any specific campaign or political party – and provided no evidence to support this claim in the interview.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the arson and other damage that has caused disruptions to service on France’s high-speed lines.

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