French train lines hit by 'malicious acts' disrupting traffic ahead of Olympics
French officials says high-speed lines have been hit by arson attacks that heavily disrupted traffic hours before the opening of the high-risk Olympics opening ceremony
PARIS — Two out of four trains carrying Olympic athletes to Paris on the western Atlantique line were stopped, hours before the opening ceremony, affected by the coordinated sabotage on the tracks, an official from the French railway operator SNCF said Friday.
Franck Dubourdieu, head of the Atlantique line, could not say which athletes were halted from travel to Paris, or whether they would make it for the ceremony.
Speaking to press, Dubourdieu said that rail traffic was improving, but his line was one of the worst-hit by the vandals.
“On the Atlantic coast, we operate 250 trains a day. We had four trains with athletes and two of them were able to operate," he said. One train was canceled and authorities hope another will become operational
“The impact on the opening ceremony is very, very” small, he added.
Attackers struck in several spots including west of Paris, at Arrou in the Eure-et-Loir on the Atlantique line to Paris.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
France’s high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics.
French officials condemned the attacks as “criminal actions,” though they said there was no sign of a direct link to the Games. Prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation saying the crimes could carry sentences of 10 to 20 years.
“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, a
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