Attack before Olympics; arsonists attack France's high-speed rail network; Russia under doubt

PARIS: Just hours before the opening of the Olympics, France's high-speed train network has been paralyzed by widespread arson and attacks.

The assailants attacked the trains with the aim of disrupting the Olympics. It is not clear who is behind it. An investigation has been initiated. Security has been beefed up for the Olympics.

There was a fire on the high-speed TGV train network on Thursday night local time. The train network in eastern, northern and coastal areas of France, connecting to Paris, was deliberately set on fire. Line nodes, fiber-optic cables that carry safety information to loco drivers and other systems, as well as signal boxes on lines from Paris to major cities, were burned. Train traffic was disrupted. Several trains were cancelled or diverted. Thousands of people were stranded at railway stations. In a single day, the travel of around two and a half lakh people across the country was disrupted. A quarter of Eurostar's international high-speed train services was cancelled. With this, the journey of those coming to the Olympics from countries like Britain and Germany came to a halt. People are stuck at stations all over here. The Eurostar London-Paris service has been suspended until Monday.

Hundreds of workers began repairs immediately, but it would take a week for things to get back to normal. Until then, the journey of around eight lakh people may be disrupted. Government railway agency SNCF has asked people to postpone their journeys and avoid reaching railway stations. The police believe that it is a sabotage attempt to stop the train traffic.

France is taking the attack, that occurred as people from foreign countries were travelling to Paris to watch the opening of the Olympics, very seriously. It is considered that the attack was planned as most people rely on high-speed trains.

Russia under doubt

French President Emmanuel Macron had accused Russia of targeting the Paris Olympics. A Russian citizen was arrested by French police in Paris the other day on suspicion of planning to disrupt the Olympics. Those behind the attack are well-informed about France's rail network