Paris:
France’s national rail operator said on Sunday it had repaired damage caused by saboteurs who paralyzed the rail network hours before the Olympics opening ceremony, and normal services would resume on Monday.
Rail traffic on the main line west of Paris was already “practically normal” and “three out of four” high-speed TGV trains were running on the main line north of the capital, “without any increase in journey times from now on” , operator SNCF said on Sunday.
It is still unclear who carried out the three attacks on strategic points in the railway infrastructure overnight from Thursday to Friday, or whether they were deliberately planned to disrupt the opening spectacle of the Games, which will take place on Friday.
Tens of thousands of rail passengers faced two days of canceled and delayed trains, on Friday and Saturday, when 800,000 travelers were due to leave for their summer holidays.
“Thanks to the exceptional efforts of SNCF Network staff, who have worked non-stop since Friday morning, repairs are now fully completed on all high-speed rail services affected by the sabotage attacks,” the operator said.
“The tests were conclusive and the railway lines can now operate normally.
“There will be no further outages from Monday morning,” he said.
No group claimed responsibility for the meticulously planned nighttime attacks. Maintenance workers thwarted a fourth.
Search for perpetrators
A source close to the Paris judicial authority, which launched an investigation, said the attacks were all carried out by “the same entity”.
A statement signed by “an unexpected delegation” was sent to several media outlets expressing support for sabotage and criticizing the Olympic Games as being a “celebration of nationalism” and the oppression of people by nation-states.
But sources close to the investigation said it was simply a message of support rather than a claim of responsibility per se, gave no details of the attacks and contained “nothing particularly serious”.
“We have discovered a certain number of elements that allow us to think that we will soon know who is responsible for what clearly did not sabotage the Olympic Games, but sabotaged part of the French people’s holidays,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France. 2 television on Saturday.
French authorities are on high alert for a potential terrorist attack during the Games, which run until August 11.
Tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers were deployed on security duties during the Olympics.
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