UPDATES WITH OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER’S REMARKS; ADDS DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; REVISES DECK; EDITS THROUGH
By Nur Asena Erturk
France’s outgoing prime minister on Friday said the “acts of sabotage” on railways in France had “massive and serious” impacts.
“Early this morning, acts of sabotage were carried out, in a prepared and coordinated way, on SNCF facilities," Gabriel Attal wrote on X.
"The results on the railway network are massive and serious.”
Attal thanked the firefighters who intervened and the SNCF employees who are working to reestablish the network.
“Our intelligence services and security forces are mobilized to find and punish the authors of those criminal acts,” the premier added.
The Paris police chief earlier announced that more force would be deployed to beef up security at Paris train stations following overnight attacks on SNCF railway lines.
More police forces have been directed to the Paris stations due to large crowds stuck in those areas following the severe disruptions, Laurent Nunez told broadcaster Franceinfo.
Earlier, the French railway company SNCF said its rail lines were vandalized overnight ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
"The SNCF was victim overnight of several simultaneous malicious acts on LGV Atlantique, North & East," the company said on X.
"Deliberate fires were started to damage our facilities," it added.
The company noted that its high-speed line LGV Southeast was not impacted, and an act was prevented.
SNCF teams are on the field to start reparations, it also said.
The high-speed traffic is severely disrupted on some routes, the company added, and called on the passengers to postpone their travels.
Eurostar services were also disrupted, according to the French broadcaster BFMTV.
Rail location cabinets were damaged and cables were put on fire and cut on some northern and eastern lines according to sources, BFMTV explained.
Around 800,000 passengers were impacted, and the traffic will not resume in one of the major Paris stations, Montparnasse, at least until 1 p.m. (1100GMT), local media outlets reported.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera in an interview with BFMTV said the traffic would be "disrupted today and probably also the weekend."
"At this point in the analysis, I understand that it is probably one or some malicious acts, some coordinated sabotage," Oudea-Castera said and stressed that she keeps her prudence when saying it as things are being analyzed now.
The minister condemned the "deplorable" acts, and added: "Playing against the Games is playing against France."
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete on X condemned the "coordinated malicious acts" that would impact the holiday travels of many French.
He thanked the SNCF teams who work to eliminate the disruptions.
Paris 2024 Olympic Games will officially start with Friday's opening ceremony on the River Seine.
The football, archery, and rugby events began earlier this week before the ceremony.