France’s high-speed rail network has been hit by widespread “malicious acts” of vandalism just hours before the Paris Olympics begin.
SNCF, the train operator, said that the attacks were designed to “paralyse” the network and that there would be widespread disruption all weekend. “This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network,” SNCF told the news agency Agence France-Presse.
Eurostar departures to Paris have been delayed, with passengers warned to “postpone” their journey.
In Belgium, media are reporting that seven people who were arrested on suspicion of terrorism on Thursday were held because investigators did not want to take any risks so close to the Olympic Games in Paris.
“[The detainees] are suspected, among other things, of preparing a terrorist attack. The specific targets of the attack had not yet been determined,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
A judge will decide later on Friday whether they will be charged, the spokesman said. The arrests took place in Antwerp, Liège, Ghent and the Brussels region.
The perpetrators of the 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed and 368 wounded, largely planned and coordinated them from Belgium, and several of the attackers were Belgian nationals or residents.
New Zealand tourists unaffected by train disruption
A group of tourists from New Zealand waiting for their train to Paris said they planned the trip for the Olympics expecting there to be disruption.
Their 10.30am train was going ahead as scheduled and they hadn’t been informed of any issues.
One of the group, Robbie Allen, said he had been “anticipating that locals will not be too happy”, citing incidents in Barcelona where tourists were sprayed with water guns.
“I’m kind of bracing myself,” he said. “But I didn’t anticipate vandalism on the trains.”
Incendiary devices found near electrical installation
On the southeast high-speed line, saboteurs failed in an attempt to set fire to an electrical installation.
Patrice Vergriete, the transport minister, said: “Light trucks were found and people fled. Incendiary devices were found on the scene.” So far, no one had claimed responsibility for the actions, he added.
International travel chaos due to Eurostar disruption
Passengers at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras station in central London
JAMES MANNING/PA
The fallout from the sabotage on the French high-speed network has hit international travel with cancellations and delays affecting Eurostar trains travelling to Brussels and Amsterdam via Paris (writes Bruno Waterfield in Brussels).
Passengers were advised “to postpone your trip” after the sudden cancellation of many early morning services leading to expected disruption during the day. The Belgian national rail service warned of 90-minute delays for travellers heading to Paris or holidaymakers flying from Charles de Gaulle airport.
“Disruption to train traffic could last all day,” Belgium’s national railway company said.
Police chief refrains from blaming Russia for attacks
Laurent Nuñez, the chief of Paris police, said: “I don’t know who was responsible for these acts so I will refrain from speaking for the moment.”
Over the past year President Macron has accused Russia of waging an intense campaign of cyberattacks, disinformation and other actions to destabilise France. Macron’s strong advocacy of military support for Ukraine has fuelled Russian hostility to France, officials say.
Moscow has also been waging a multi-faceted campaign to damage the Olympic games, from which its athletes have been excluded unless they participate with no national identification.
SNCF says five acts of sabotage disrupted networks
Five separate acts of sabotage were staged on electrical power installations, cables and signal systems on the three networks, the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern TGV (high-speed) lines, the SNCF said.
The acts took place between 1am and 5.30am. The busiest, the north-south Mediterranean axis, is not affected and neither are inter-city, regional and suburban trains.
London St Pancras running smoothly
Passengers queue at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras station in central London
JAMES MANNING/PA
So far things seem to be going smoothly at St Pancras International despite the issues in France, with this morning’s trains departing on time. Passengers already at the station said their trains were set to go ahead as scheduled and that they were only aware of the disruption through the news (writes Seren Hughes at St Pancras).
The departure boards showed the trains leaving as scheduled, although the Eurostar website showed trains taking an extra hour to reach Paris. This was due to trains being diverted via the classic line after the “coordinated acts of malice”. Notice boards said the 3.31pm train 9036 to Paris was cancelled due to “operational issues”. Passengers were being advised to contact a member of staff.
There were a few visible police officers at the entrance to the departures queue, but they say their presence is due to the Olympics.
SNCF chief says 800,000 passengers affected
As many as 800,000 passengers are affected by the disruption, the head of the train operator, SNCF, has claimed.
Jean-Pierre Farandou denounced what he called a “scandalous criminal act, a massive act of aggression on our high-speed lines”. He promised rapid repairs but some would have to await forensic investigations at the scenes.
He added that 250,000 people in the Paris area had been impacted.
Rail and flight chaos looms as Paris locks down
Passengers at the Gare Montparnasse as SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations
THIBAUD MORITZ/GETTY IMAGES
The disruption on the railways couldn’t have come at a worse time given there will be widespread flight disruption today because of the opening ceremony.
In what is an unprecedented move, a no-fly zone the size of Belgium will be imposed across northern France during the ceremony with all three Paris airports closed.
Almost all planes will be banned from entering a radius of 80 nautical miles centred on Notre-Dame cathedral from 6.30pm to midnight local time.
Police chief says Paris security will be tightened
Laurent Nuñez, the chief of Paris police, said security, which is already at its tightest level seen in peacetime Paris, will be further strengthened at the stations and around key rail installations.
Central Paris is in a state of virtual lockdown ahead of the opening ceremony, with passes required to cross police cordons anywhere within a few hundred yards of the Seine and Olympic sites.
The coordinated attack clearly foiled efforts by the SNCF to protect its system from malicious attacks since a first act of sabotage hit the high-speed lines at the Gare de l’Est in January last year.
Transport minister: attacks will compromise holidays
Patrice Vergriete, the French transport minister, said that the attacks on the network were “co-ordinated” and “would seriously disrupt traffic”.
He wrote on Twitter/X: “These criminal actions are going to compromise the holiday departures of many French people.”
Sabotage disrupts trains ahead of opening ceremony
The attack appears to be aimed at disturbing the Olympics, which open with an extravaganza on the Seine through central Paris with athletes carried on a procession of boats on Friday. Some 400,000 people are expected to watch.
A fire was first ignited at a control centre just outside Paris which halted trains in an out of the Montparnasse station in Paris, the final stop of the western network that serves Brittany, the Loire and the Atlantic regions. Another act of sabotage hit Arras, on the northern line from the Gare du Nord that serves Lille and the Eurostar Channel trains. A further strike hit the eastern line that runs into the Gare de L’Est and serves Strasbourg and eastern France.
Eurostar services affected
Eurostar services to and from Paris are being diverted or cancelled due to the “coordinated acts of malice” to the railway in France.
All high speed trains to and from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today, extending the journey time by around an hour and a half. Several trains have been cancelled.
A spokesman for Eurostar said the disruption was “due to coordinated acts of malice in France affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille”.
“Eurostar’s teams are fully mobilised in stations, in the call centers, and onboard to ensure that all passengers are informed and can reach their destination,” the spokesperson said.
Customers can cancel free of charge, be refunded, or modify their journey free of charge.
Brussels-Lille-London trains are not affected.