Associated Press

The Summer Olympics is remaking Paris

Guardian

Paris 2024 explained: all you need to know about the Olympics but were afraid to ask

Independent

Paris 2024 Olympics schedule and day-by-day events

A series of what French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal called "coordinated" arson attacks broke out on Friday on three of France's four high-speed rail lines, disrupting the travel plans of over 1M weekend commuters ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

New York Times

Attal called the fires "acts of sabotage," with prosecutors in Paris opening a criminal investigation. The chief executive officer of SNCF, a French rail company, said that the fires were mostly set in pipes that contained cables needed for signaling.

Service on one line has been running at normal levels while others have only seen partial resumption, with SNCF saying that repairs will need to continue over the weekend. Eurostar has said that journeys will be 1.5 hours longer due to the disruption, while SNCF advised travelers to postpone travel plans.

EuroNews

France's TGV trains can travel at speeds of up to 300 km/hr (186 mph) and transverses through mostly rural areas. The areas affected include the Atlantic line, which travels to Brittany and southwest France, as well as near the intersection of the routes heading to Metz and Strasbourg.

BBC News

SNCF has said overnight workers reported unauthorized personnel on the tracks in central France, with France's intelligence services saying that perpetrators and motivations are currently unknown. The SNCF head said that the sabotaged cables carry safety information for conductors or control the train's engine.

Le Monde.fr

One additional attack was also foiled before damage was caused. The attacks in total have not affected the opening ceremony of the games. Security at the Olympics has been a top concern, and tens of thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed nationwide.

France: 'Coordinated' Arson Attacks Disrupt Rail Network Ahead of Olympic Games

France: 'Coordinated' Arson Attacks Disrupt Rail Network Ahead of Olympic Games

Articles on this story

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

France: 'Coordinated' Arson Attacks Disrupt Rail Network Ahead of Olympic Games

France: 'Coordinated' Arson Attacks Disrupt Rail Network Ahead of Olympic Games

Articles on this story

Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters