► Arsonists
set
fire
to
cables
alongside
high
speed
lines,
blocking
signalling
data

► Police
and
soldiers
are
patrolling
stations
in
Paris
just
hours
before
Olympics
launch


► Thousands
of
people
delayed
as
trains
are
diverted
to
classic
lines
or
cancelled

Updated
11.53

Three
arson
attacks


have
disrupted
high
speed
train
services
in
France,
on
the
eve
of
the
Olympics
opening
ceremony
in
Paris.
Trains
from
London
have
been
affected,
along
with
other
international
and
domestic high
speed
services
within
France. Prime
Minister
Gabriel
Attal
says
the
effect
on
the
country’s
railways
has
been
‘massive
and
serious’.

SNCF
said
vital
cables
had
been
damaged
by
the
fires,
and
police
with
Olympics
duties
are
reported
to
have
been
diverted
to
some
major
stations
in
Paris
to
help
deal
with
crowds
of
frustrated
travellers.
Some
soldiers
have
also
been
seen
on
stations.

11.53
update:

It
appears
that
the
arsonists
set
fire
to
bundled
fibre-optic
cables
in
conduits
running
along
the
cess,
knocking
out
signalling
data
circuits.
SNCF
president
Jean-Pierre
Farandou
is
quoted
by
news
agency
AFP
as
saying:
‘There’s
a
huge
number
of
bundled
cables.
We
have
to
repair
them
one
by
one.
It’s
a
manual
operation
requiring
hundreds
of
workers.’
Repairs
are
not
expected
to
be
complete
before
Monday.

Eurostar
has
been
affected
because
one
of
the
attacks
damaged
LGV
Nord
near
Arras,
between
Paris
and
Lille.
Some
Eurostar
services
between
London
and
Paris
have
been
cancelled,
while
those
trains
which do
run
are
being
diverted
on
to
the
slower
classic
line
between
Lille
and
Paris,
and
Eurostar
has
warned
that
journeys
will
take
about
90
minutes
longer
as
a
result.
It
said
its
staff
had
been
‘fully mobilised
in
stations,
in
the
call
centres,
and
on
board
to
assist
and
ensure
our
passengers
are
fully
informed’.

LGVs
Atlantique
and
Est
have
also
been
damaged
by
the
attacks,
and
SNCF
is
asking
its
passengers
not
to
try
to
travel
on
these
lines.
SNCF
said
there
had
been
a
‘massive
attack
aimed
at
paralysing the
network’.

A
fourth
attack
on
LGV
Sud-Est
to
Lyon
has
apparently
been
prevented,
but
no
further
details
have
been
given.

There
is
no
obvious
connection
with
the
Olympics
so
far,
and
no-one
has
admitted
responsibility,
but
the
disruption
has
come
on
one
of
the
busiest
days
of
the
year
for
French
Railways.
The system
was
braced
to
deal
with
many
thousands
of
people
arriving
in
Paris
for
the
start
of
the
Olympics,
while
a
second
surge
of
passengers
consists
of
people
leaving
Paris
at
the
start
of
the
summer holidays.