Arrests ongoing, but infrastructure continues to be targeted during Paris Olympics.
Operations on multiple telecommunications lines in France have been disrupted as they become the latest apparent target of sabotage linked to the Paris Olympics.
French police announced on Monday that the fiber optic networks of several operators had been targeted in six areas of France. The latest infrastructure problems were reported as the French government said it was keeping an eye on far-left figures linked to sabotage attacks on the country’s rail network.
Telecommunications problems have been reported in the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, which hosts the Olympic football and sailing competitions. However, Paris was not affected.
Telecommunications operators Bouygues and Free confirmed that their services were affected. Local media reported that facilities belonging to French telecommunications company SFR were also vandalized.
Marina Ferrari, Secretary of State responsible for digital affairs, confirmed in a publication in X on Monday that the sabotage attacks occurred in several regions during the night and had localized impacts on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.
“I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts. Thank you to the teams mobilized this morning to carry out repairs and restore damaged sites to service,” she said.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks confirmed the outages.
Confirmed: Network data shows outages across multiple internet providers in #France amid reports of a fiber sabotage campaign targeting telecommunications infrastructure during the Paris 2024 Olympics pic.twitter.com/OOIfcc4TOO
– NetBlocks (@netblocks) July 29, 2024
‘Far left brands’
The vandalization of telecommunications networks comes after hundreds of thousands of train passengers were stranded following several arson attacks on the French high-speed rail network. The sabotage occurred on Friday, apparently timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympics.
In addition to affecting passengers and athletes in Paris, people in the British capital, London, and other neighboring countries were affected. Traffic was fully restored to normal on Monday, French authorities said.
A national investigation was launched into the attacks. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday confirmed reports that an arrest was made on Sunday in Normandy, northwestern France, and that far-left activists were the main suspects.
“We identified the profiles of several people,” he told France 2 TV, adding that the sabotage bore the hallmarks of far-left groups.
Darmanin warned that investigations are still ongoing and it is necessary to be “cautious” in attributing blame.
In response to the rail sabotage attacks, the minister said 50 drones, 250 rail security officers and 1,000 maintenance workers have been deployed to bolster security along the 28,000km (17,400 mile) rail network.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that 45 members of the radical environmental movement Extinction Rebellion were also arrested for planning to protest the social and ecological consequences of the Olympics.
‘Fake news’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday criticized Western media speculation that Russia was behind the attacks.
He said suggestions of Moscow’s involvement were “more fake news and more unfounded accusations,” according to state news agency TASS.
Peskov said the Western press “does not shy away from any opportunity to literally blame Russia for everything that goes wrong.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
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