France trains cancelled as hunt for vandals continues

Three of France’s 10 high-speed trains will be suspended on Saturday after being hit by a series of “coordinated” arson attacks.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said security forces were continuing to search for “saboteurs” after the railway network was paralyzed ahead of the opening of the Olympics.

National railway company SNCF said trains running on Saturday would be delayed by up to two hours on key routes to and from Paris and a quarter of Eurostar services would be cancelled.

France’s transport minister said services would return to normal by Monday morning.

SNCF said it had not yet made any claim of responsibility for the damage.

The company said workers “worked through the night in the rain and in difficult conditions” to repair the damage.

In this “strategic” act of vandalism, a cable box at the junction of the Nord, Brittany and Southwest lines was set on fire just hours before the Olympic opening ceremony was to begin in the capital.

Officials said the saboteurs cut special fibre optic cables vital to the safe functioning of the rail network and set them on fire.

A source close to the investigation told AFP the operation was “well prepared” and organised by a “single organisation”.

Railroad workers thwarted an attempt to sabotage safety equipment on Line 4.

“At present, northbound traffic will continue to be disrupted on Sunday, but Atlantic traffic should improve over the weekend,” a rail network spokesman said on Saturday morning.

SNCF estimated on Friday that around 250,000 passengers were affected, while Deputy Transport Minister Patrice Bergriete said up to 800,000 people could be affected over the three days.

Eurostar, which runs international trains from London to Paris and also serves France’s high-speed rail network, said one in four trains would be cancelled over the weekend.

The disruption is expected to continue into Monday, with travellers being advised to postpone travel.

Among the Eurostar passengers affected on Friday was Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had planned to travel to the Olympic opening ceremony by train but was forced to fly instead.