The French rail network was targeted by vandals on the eve of the Olympics

French state railway operator SNCF announced in a statement on Friday that vandals targeted the French rail network ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony.

“Last night, the French railway network was the victim of several acts of vandalism on the North and East Atlantic high-speed lines,” the French state-owned railway operator explained. The fires were deliberately planned to damage our facilities.”

The French railway operator also announced that currently, travel traffic is completely disrupted on the affected lines.

French Minister: strike on the rail network is a criminal act

Patrice Vergeriete, France’s transport minister, said on Friday that the fire on the country’s railway network is a criminal act.

Vergerite told reporters that everything indicated that the attack was “deliberate”. In a separate post on X, he said traffic disruptions are likely to continue into the weekend.

Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre Farandeau, CEO of the French rail operator, told BFMTV that the “massive attack” had affected around 800,000 passengers. This incident happened right before the opening of the Olympics.

Translator: Azam Purkand