A major sabotage operation disrupted France’s high-speed TGV train network just before the summer rush and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Unknown attackers cut and set fire to crucial fiber optic cables, causing widespread chaos and delays. An investigation is underway, with over fifty gendarmes on the case, but no group has claimed responsibility yet. The attack has left travelers frustrated and railway workers racing to repair the damage, highlighting a mysterious and well-coordinated threat to national infrastructure.

In what has been called “an attack on France” and “coordinated sabotage,” several “malicious” acts, including fire, targeted France’s high-speed train lines on Friday in an attempt to impede traffic ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

“A large number of trains were diverted or canceled,” the French state railway corporation SNCF stated in a post on X, requesting “all travelers who can to postpone their trip and not go to the station.” Although there was still significant disruption, its services had partially resumed by Friday afternoon reports Lefigaro.

Although no one has taken credit for the attacks, it is obvious that they are more than just infrequent vandalism given their scope and accuracy.

French intelligence services are “fully mobilized” to identify individuals involved, an intelligence source told CNN. The source went on to say that although the far-left has historically employed these strategies, “there is no evidence to tie today’s actions to them.”

The operator said that some of its facilities were damaged and that the high-speed lines in the Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern regions were affected. It also added that one of the acts in the Eastern region was “foiled” after SNCF officials chased off several people. The Northern line transports passengers from the French capital to Lille, the Eastern line travels from Paris to Strasbourg, and the Atlantic line serves the west and southwest of France.

However, according to CGT train union leader Axel Persson, the attack was probably carried out by someone with very “precise information.”

He acknowledged to CNN that an industrial espionage or railroad employee may be at fault, but he also emphasized that railroad employees were instrumental in thwarting one of the attacks.

In addition to outlining four distinct counts related to participating in organized crime and causing damage to public property, the Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an inquiry into the attack. A fine of €300,000 ($325,000) and up to 20 years in jail are the penalties for certain of the listed offenses. Gabriel Attal, the outgoing prime minister of France, stated on Friday afternoon that he was not aware of any arrests to date.

Only a third of trains were operating on the Atlantic side following emergency repairs, according to regional SNCF director Frank Dubourdieu, who addressed reporters at a news conference on Friday afternoon. The majority of trains on the eastern network were operating with delays of roughly an hour.

‘We didn’t need a day like this’

As work personnel supervise repairs, SNCF predicted that disruptions could affect about 250,000 travelers today. The company also stated that 800,000 passengers would be affected throughout the weekend.

Travel plans were ruined by the disruption, as travelers gathered outside Paris’s Gare du Nord train station and sat with their bags on staircases. Francoise, an 80-year-old La Rochelle resident, was attempting to return home and to her caregiver following medical care in Paris.

She revealed to CNN that she was getting ready to endure a five-hour wait in the hopeless hope of catching a train. “We didn’t need a day like this!” she said.

A couple stranded at Gare Montparnasse on Friday had to watch their friends’ wedding ceremony over the phone. According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, Alexandre and Camille intended to travel to the western city of Poitiers for the civil ceremony, but since they were unable to rent a car, they watched it via video chat. Alexandre continued, “They ought to be able to travel to Poitiers for the secular ceremony over the weekend.”

“I don’t know where to go. I was only here to change trains,” Marguerite, a 24-year-old professor, told CNN in Gare Montparnasse as she tried to make her way home to Brittany, northwest France. “I’m trying to call friends to see where I can sleep tonight … We are blocked here.”

There were also issues with two trains that carried Olympic participants. “Of the four Olympic trains, only two were able to run, one was canceled, and a third is being prepared,” Dubourdieu said to reporters.

According to Dubourdieu, repair work on the Atlantic connection could take more than a day, as the company is sourcing cables from all over the country.

According to Farandou, they must reconnect, test, and piece each damaged cable back together one at a time. “It’s a question of security,” he said. “We have to make sure we test them so when trains are back up and running, they are safe.”

A fourth of the trains operated by the high-speed train service Eurostar, which links the UK and France, will be canceled this weekend as a result of “coordinated acts of malice” on French lines. In a statement, it advised clients to, if at all possible, reschedule their vacation.

These occurrences occurred just hours before the Olympic opening ceremony, which was scheduled to take place along the Seine River and draw well over 320,000 spectators. Later on Friday, the opening ceremony was held. Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, told reporters he had “full confidence” in the French government and the security measures already in place.

‘Coordinated sabotage’

Oudéa-Castera called the attacks “truly appalling” and denounced them in the “strongest possible terms” in an interview with BFMTV.

The disruption of the rail lines, according to Amélie Oudéa-Castera, the French minister of sports for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, is “a sort of coordinated sabotage.”

“We will assess the impacts on travelers, and athletes, and ensure the proper transport of all delegations to the competition sites,” she said.

The intentionality of the attacks was acknowledged by several French officials. While the SNCF referred to the disruption as an “attack on France,” Attal claimed that the occurrences were “prepared and organized” in a way that “shows a kind of knowledge of the network in order to know where to strike.”

Laurent Nunez, the chief of police in Paris, announced on Friday that his force is concentrating its efforts on the train stations in the city and has increased security in response to the attacks.

In recent weeks, Parisian security has already been reinforced.

According to a representative from the French interior ministry, France would use about 35,000 police officers every day during the Games, reaching a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony, as CNN previously reported. They also stated that 1,800 police officers from throughout the globe will be assisting in the deployment of 10,000 soldiers in the Paris area.

The deputy mayor of Paris in charge of security, Nicolas Nordman, recently told CNN that authorities were certain the ceremony would be safe since they had been trying to predict possible outcomes for months.

According to Bach, the head of the IOC, foreign intelligence services are also involved in the security of the events.

Around the world, 180 more intelligence services support the French authorities. We have strong reason to have complete trust because, in addition to information, some of them are even using their people resources, he stated.

Growing discontent within France’s population has been fueled in part by the recent national elections, which included a contest between the far right and left.

Security personnel have arrested a “member of the extreme-right” this week who is “suspected of wanting to commit violent action during the Olympic Games,” according to Interior Minister Darmanin. The individual had an “intention to intervene during a phase of the torch relay,” according to Darmanin.

Concurrently, France has been affected, along with many other European nations, by a series of attacks that authorities have connected to Russia. Arson and acts of sabotage against infrastructure have been among them. The claims have not received a response from Russia.

A Russian national was arrested by French officials earlier this week in Paris on charges of planning disruptive activities for the Olympics. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that Russia was unaware of the detention.

Earlier, Israeli officials warned about a potential terrorist threat targeting their athletes at the Olympics. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has warned France about a possible plot involving Iranian-backed groups aiming to disrupt the games and harm Israeli delegates.