French rail network target of 'malicious' arson attack

Saboteurs launched a "malicious" arson attack on France's rail networks in "an effort to destabilise" the country just hours before the start of the Paris Olympic Games.

- TARA COBHAM

Up to 800,000 passengers are facing travel chaos attempting to reach Paris this weekend after high-speed rail services to the French capital were hit by what officials described as "criminal actions" ahead of last night's opening ceremony.

The chief executive of France's rail operator SNCF said that the "French are under attack", after a series of fires brought trains to a halt, causing the cancellation of multiple services linking Paris to the rest of France as well as neighbouring countries. It was "a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack" that indicates "a desire to seriously harm" the French people, Jean-Pierre Faranadou added.

Describing the consequences for the rail network as "massive and serious", French prime minister Gabriel Attal vowed authorities will "find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts". He said the vandals behind the sabotage and arson had the clear objective of strategically targeting the main routes to and from Paris ahead of the Games.

French transport minister Patrice Vergriete said there had been a series of "coordinated malicious acts". He described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices, adding: “Everything indicates that these are criminal fires." National police said authorities were investigating the incidents.

As well as disruption on the Atlantic, North and East lines of the SNCF rail network, French Police also said a bomb alert forced the evacuation of the Franco-Swiss airport of Basel-Mulhouse yesterday following a routine safety protocol. However, the airport resumed operations at midday.