Olympic rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France
Attacks on France’s TGV high-speed train network before dawn across the country caused travel chaos and showed where security was weak before Friday’s opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics.
The planned attacks happened at the same time that France was putting together a huge security operation with tens of thousands of police and soldiers to protect the city for the sports extravaganza. This operation drew in security resources from all over the country.
The state-owned railway company SNCF said that thieves had broken into signal substations and cables on the lines that connect Paris to towns like Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west, and Strasbourg in the east. It was possible to stop another attack on the line between Paris and Marseille.
There was no claim of guilt right away. Two security sources said that the way things were done made them think that the attackers might be left-wing militants or environmental campaigners at first, but they said there was still no proof.
The organized crime office of the Paris prosecutor’s office said it would be in charge of the investigation. The anti-terrorist sub-directorate (SDAT), a part of the judicial police that usually keeps an eye on hard-left, extreme-right, and radical environmental groups, would be in charge of organizing the investigations.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wouldn’t say anything about the chance that these kinds of groups were behind the sabotage.
“What we know, what we see, is that this operation was prepared, coordinated, and that nerve centres were targeted, which shows a certain knowledge of the network to know where to strike,” he added.
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