France High-Speed Train Line under Arson Attack: No Arrests Yet

• Early on Friday morning, France's high-speed train line was hit by 5 attacks, 4 out of which were successful and one was averted by the night maintenance crew.
• No arrests have been made yet but the authorities have confirmed that they have mobilized all security forces to look into the matter.
• The way the attacks were carried out, it seems like they weren't a random act of vandalism but something way more planned, probably to create chaos right before the Olympics.

Ahead of the upcoming Olympics games, France's high-speed train lines were hit by a series of malicious acts". This includes setting fires in conduits carrying cables that convey safety information for drivers or control point mechanisms. Fiber-optic cables running alongside the rail tracks have also been destroyed.

The attacks took place between 1 am and 5.30 am on Friday. Four of them were successful and one was disrupted by the night maintenance team.

Giving the details of the attack. the state-owned railway operator, SNCF, revealed that the arsonists targeted the installations along high-speed TGV lines connecting Paris with the country's north, east, and west.

The south-west route was hit the worst. Only the south-eastern line is running as usual. This means that traffic will be heavily disrupted this weekend.

What Now?

No one has officially claimed responsibility for the attack. However, according to some security sources, the arson method has been previously used by extreme-left groups. This is not to say that they were the ones behind the Friday attack as well - we are just highlighting a pattern.

Paris public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened against these attackers who, according to the authorities, have intentionally tried to sabotage the country's busiest rail lines.

Given the precision of the attacks, it doesn't seem like a random act of vandalism. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin added to it and said that the authorities were hoping to make the arrests quickly.

Some of the listed crimes are punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 ($325,000) might be imposed. And as of now, there's no threat to the upcoming Olympic ceremonies.

"There's a huge number of bundled cables. We have to repair them one by one, it's a manual operation" that will require hundreds of workers - SNCF's chief executive, Jean-Pierre Farandou

Passengers are requested to postpone their travel plans. Although the services had partially resumed by mid-afternoon, a large number of trains had either been diverted or canceled. Hence, disruptions will continue.

Was It Really Targetted at the Olympic Games?

It's hard to say at the moment if the attacks were done to disrupt the Olympic Games. But given the timing of the attack, there seems to be no other possible explanation.

The attacks were definitely planned. For example, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that the sites that were attacked were the nerve centers" of the country's rail system. So the miscreants clearly knew which points to attack to cause the most damage.

At the same time, in a seemingly unrelated incident, the Basel-Mulhouse airport in eastern France had to be temporarily closed after it received a bomb threat.

A special bomb disposal team was sent in to investigate but nothing was found. Flights resumed around early afternoon the same day. A sudden attack on France's public transport system right before such a big event when more than 300,000 spectators are expected to arrive might make it seem connected.

This is why cybersecurity experts are also highly alert for possible cyberattacks during the Olympics 2024. This attack on France's train lines proves that France is currently a lucrative target for malicious parties.

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