France’s high-speed rail network was hit by widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism, including arson attacks, on Friday. This stopped all travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the Olympics’ opening ceremony.
The French government called the attacks “criminal actions,” even though they said there was no evidence linking them to the Games. Prosecutors in Paris started a national investigation and said the crimes could get people 15 to 20 years in prison.
As the city of Paris got ready for a big parade on and along the Seine River, three fires were reported near the tracks of the high-speed lines Atlantique, Nord, and Est. These fires caused problems for hundreds of thousands of travelers.
It was reported by the German news agency dpa that two German showjumping athletes were on a train to Paris to attend the opening ceremony but had to turn around in Belgium because of the road closures. They will now miss the ceremony.
Christian Kukuk, a rider on the same team as Philipp Weishaupt, told dpa, “There was no longer a chance of making it on time.”
On the social media site X, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that France’s intelligence services have been called in to find the people who did this. Attal said they were “acts of sabotage” that were “planned and coordinated.”
No one was hurt that was known of.
Patrice Vergriete, the minister of transportation, talked about how people were running away from fires and how explosives were found. He said, “Everything points to these being criminal fires.”
Vergriete told BFM TV that the incidents shut down a number of high-speed lines that connect Paris to the rest of France and to countries nearby.
SNCF, the French national rail company, said that areas where rail tracks meet were meant to feel the effects twice as much. “Two places were hit by one fire,” said Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of the company. Farandou said it was “a planned, calculated, and coordinated attack” that shows “a desire to seriously harm” the French people.
The attack happened at a time when there were high tensions around the world and more security was in place as the city got ready for the 2024 Olympics. A lot of people were planning to go to the capital for the opening ceremony, and a lot of vacationers were also on their way there.
Several attempts to disrupt the Olympics have been thwarted by French authorities. One Russian man was arrested on suspicion of planning to make the games less stable.
The “massive attack” that shut down the TGV high-speed network caused the Paris police prefecture to “concentrate its personnel in Parisian train stations,” according to Laurent Nuñez, the chief of police in Paris, who spoke to France Info.
Also on Friday, the French airport of Basel-Mulhouse, which is near the borders of Germany and Switzerland, was evacuated in the morning and will remain closed for the time being “for safety reasons,” the airport said. It wasn’t clear if the attacks on the trains had anything to do with it.
The problems were worst at the Montparnasse station in Paris.
Maiwenn Labbé-Sorin said she was stuck on a train for hours before it turned around and went back to Paris in the crowded hall of the station.
She said, “We were there for two hours without water, toilets, or electricity.” Then we could walk along the track for a while until the train came back. “I don’t know what will happen next.”
On Friday morning, many people at the Gare du Nord, which is one of the busiest train stations in Europe, were looking for answers and ways to solve their problems. The main message boards were the center of attention because most services to northern France, Belgium, and the UK were running late.
Sarah Moseley, 42, said, “It’s a terrible way to start the Olympics” when she found out her train to London was an hour late.
Corey Grainger, an Australian sales manager who is 37 years old and on his way to London, said, “They should have more information for tourists, especially if it’s a malicious attack.” He was sitting in the middle of the station with his two suitcases.
Amélie Oudéa-Castera, the Minister of Sports, said that the government was working to “evaluate the impact on travelers, athletes, and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition sites” for the Olympics. “Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your own camp, and against your country,” she said on BFM TV.
SNCF said it didn’t know when traffic would start going again and thought the problems would last “at least all weekend.””SNCF teams were already on site to do diagnostics and start repairs,” the operator said. “The situation should last at least all weekend while the repairs are done.”
In a press release, SNCF told “all passengers to delay their journey and not to go to the station.” It also said that all tickets could be exchanged or refunded.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council for the greater Paris area, said from Montparnasse station, “Today, 250,000 travelers on all of these lines will be affected.” Plans were being made for replacements, but Pecresse told travelers “not to go to stations.”
There have been problems before the opening ceremony on Friday night. During the ceremony, 7,000 Olympic athletes are supposed to sail down the Seine past famous Parisian landmarks like Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, and the Musee d’Orsay.
