Paris 2024, attack on French trains. Network paralyzed during the night, sabotage at the Olympics –

A few hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) declared that it had been the victim of “a massive attack aimed at paralyzing the TGV network” and today asks “all travellers to postpone their journey and not to go to the station”. The SNCF was “the victim of numerous malicious acts last night”, the railway group specified, “intentional fires were set to damage the installations”. In particular, the electricity network was targeted.

French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete strongly condemned the “criminal actions” and spoke of “coordinated malicious acts”. TGV traffic on the Atlantic, North and East axes is severely disrupted. “We are diverting some trains onto traditional lines but we will have to remove a large number of them,” SNCF said in its press release. The TGV South-East line, however, was not directly attacked, the railway company clarified. The disruption is expected to last at least through the weekend. SNCF Réseau teams “are already on site to carry out the diagnosis and begin repairs”, but this “situation should last at least through the weekend, the time it takes to carry out the repairs”, the operator said.

“This will disrupt this day and probably this weekend too,” said the outgoing Minister of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amèlie Oudèa-Castèra, who, on BfmTv, evoked, “cautiously” and according to initial analyses, “a sort of coordinated sabotage”. “I really want to condemn in the strongest possible terms what is happening this morning, it is truly frightening. Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your team, against your country,” she said. “We will assess the impact on travellers and athletes and ensure regular transport for all delegations to the competition venues,” she assured. The Olympic Games begin in total chaos.