French National Railways (SNCF) employees are repairing the site of a suspected attack after an attack on the high-speed rail network in Vendiere-east, northeastern France, on July 26, 2024. France’s high-speed rail network was disrupted hours before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics .
Jean-Christophe Verhaegen | Jean-Christophe Verhaegen TV series | Getty Images
Telecoms infrastructure damaged within days of attack on France’s rail network travel disruption Over the weekend, 800,000 people were served, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
France’s rail network resumed normal train services on Monday when authorities reported damage to telecommunications infrastructure, causing local power outages and raising fears of further chaos across the country.
Digital Affairs Minister Marina Ferrari said there were isolated outages in France’s telecoms network as multiple areas suffered overnight damage.
Ferrari said on the social platform
“I condemn these cowardly and irresponsible actions in the strongest possible terms,” ​​she said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation.
It was unclear whether the damage to telecommunications networks was related to last week’s vandalism and arson attacks on the rail network.
The Kremlin on Monday launched a preemptive pushback against any suggestion that Russia was involved in Friday’s rail attack, with presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the claim “fake news,” according to state news agency TASS.
According to a translation report by France 24, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in an interview with France 2 television that the Ministry of the Interior has identified several people related to the railway attack. Darmanin said the “deliberate, very precise” actions taken were often associated with far-left activists, without mentioning specific campaigns or parties and providing no evidence for the claim in the interview.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the arson and other damage that disrupted services on France’s high-speed rail lines.
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