French TGV network Photo: Ian Langsdon/ AFP
France’s state-owned rail operator announced that high-speed trains were back to normal on Monday after sabotage caused chaos over the weekend. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that left-wing extremists were behind the acts of sabotage, confirming previously received unofficial information, Reuters reported.
The sabotage disrupted high-speed train services in the country on Friday, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Darmanin noted that the profiles of several suspects have already been identified, and their actions bear the hallmarks of left-wing extremists.
Rail operator SNCF announced on Sunday that repairs to the high-speed lines were “fully complete” and that there would be “no more disruption” for travelers from Monday morning. The situation is already “almost normal” on the Atlantic route, and “3 out of 4 TGVs” run on the northern route without delays.
The crisis began overnight from Thursday to Friday when fiber optic cables were cut and set on fire at strategic points in Courtalen (LGV Atlantique), Croisier (LGV Nord) and Paigny-sur-Moselle (LGV East). On the southeastern LGV in Verzhynya, railway workers prevented another act of sabotage.
The sabotage caused chaos at train stations on Friday, at the height of the summer holidays and just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The action was well prepared and organized, a source close to the investigation said.
On Saturday, several media outlets reported supporting the sabotage, justifying the actions and criticizing the Olympics using anarchist rhetoric. Samples taken from the sabotage sites were sent for urgent analysis, but have not yet yielded definitive results.
