NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Frances rail network has beenparalysed by a series of coordinated arson attacks today, affecting nearly a million people travelling to the Olympic games.
Flames engulfed train tracks at strategic points across the country this morning, just hours before the Olympic Opening Ceremony was due to kick off on the River Seine in Paris.
Around 800,000 travellers have been affected by the cancellations, including two German showjumpers set to take part in the opening ceremony who will now miss the event.
There was no longer a chance of making it on time, rider Philipp Weishaupt, who was travelling with teammate Christian Kukuk, told German news agency dpa.
Officials condemned the attacks as criminal actions and prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation saying the crimes could carry sentences of 15 to 20 years.
Gare du Nord, where the Eurostar stops in Paris, is also affected by the attacks on the rail network, said a spokesperson for SNCF, the national state-owned railway company in the country.
Eurostar customers at London St Pancras, which travels directly to Paris, have been told to cancel their trips where possible while the situation resolves itself.
Two out of four trains carrying Olympic athletes to Paris were stopped hours before the opening ceremony, SNCF said.
Franck Dubourdieu, head of the Atlantique line, could not say which athletes were halted or whether they would make it for the ceremony.
He said services were improving and added the impact on the opening ceremony was very small.
The majority of Team GB were also due to travel to Paris via the Eurostar, along with thousands of travellers from the UK.
Maxi and her 12-year-old daughter Iva were among those stranded at Gare Du Nord this morning.
Their train to Cologne was supposed to depart at 9.55am Paris time, but it was then delayed by another hour and a half.
The mum feared that the delays would continue throughout the day, but she kept positive, telling Metro.co.uk: At least it is not a terrorist attack.
Maxi has already looked up the price of renting a car to drive to Cologne but it starts at 1,000 euros.
Prime minister Gabriel Attal said Frances intelligence services have been mobilised to find the perpetrators of acts of sabotage which he described as prepared and co-ordinated.
He said the sabotage and arson had a clear objective: blocking the high-speed train network.
SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou called the sabotage a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack that indicates a desire to seriously harm the French people.
The places were especially chosen to have the most serious impact since each fire cut off two lines, he added.
Three fires were reported near the tracks of the French Atlantique, Nord and Est high-speed lines by local media earlier today.
Trains to neighbouring Belgium and to London under the English Channel have also been affected, with warnings for people to delay their travel.
Lines in the west, north and east of France were also targeted, resulting in chaos.
Eurostar said in a statement: Due to co-ordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday July 26.
This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half. Several trains have been cancelled.
Eurostars teams are fully mobilised in stations, in the call centres, and onboard to ensure that all passengers are informed and can reach their destination.
We encourage our customers to postpone their trip if possible.
Beyond the opening ceremony in Paris, transport minister Patrice Vergriete said the criminal actions will compromise the holiday departures of many French people.
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Teams are on-site to carry out the diagnosis and begin repairs on train lines, but the disruptions should last at least all weekend.
Amélie Oudéa-Castera, Frances sports minister, has said it is unclear who carried out arson attacks on Frances high-speed train network.
Speaking to Sky News, the minister said the attacks were probably a large-scale sabotage and were likely co-ordinated.
The minister refused to rule out Russian interference but said it was also possible French nationals had carried out the attacks.
I have a little bit of anger. We are not going to let ourselves be destabilised by this, Oudéa-Castera told the broadcaster.
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She said the perpetrators were playing against the side of the athletes, who have been working so hard, for so many years, and that the Opening Ceremony this evening would be fine as the government had anticipated everything.
The attack occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepared for the 2024 Games. Many passengers were planning to converge on the capital for the opening ceremony, and many holidaymakers were also in transit.
French authorities have foiled several plots to disrupt the Olympics, including arresting a Russian man on suspicion of planning to destabilise the event.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of the greater Paris region, speaking from Montparnasse station, said 250,000 travellers will be affected today on all these lines. Substitution plans were underway, but she advised travellers not to go to stations.
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