French telecoms network hit by vandalism within days of arson attacks against national railways

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July 29, 2024
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SNCF employees repair the scene of a suspected attack on the Eastern high speed railway network in Vandieres, north eastern France on July 26, 2024, as France’s high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Jean-christophe Verhaegen | Afp | Getty Images

Telecoms infrastructure was damaged in France, within days of attacks against the country’s rail network that disrupted travel for 800,000 people through the weekend, just as the Olympics Games opening ceremony kicked off in Paris.

Normal train service had resumed on the French rail network by Monday — when authorities reported damage to telecoms infrastructure, which caused local power outages and raised the specter of further national disruption.

Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Marina Ferrari that France’s telecoms network was experiencing isolated outages due to damage carried out overnight in several regions.

Fiber optic, fixed telephone and mobile services may face localized issues, with operators working to carry out repairs, Ferrari said on social platform X.

“I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible actions,” she said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation.

It was not immediately clear whether vandalism to the telecoms network was connected to the damage and arson carried out on the rail network last week.

Pre-empting suspicions, the Kremlin on Monday hit out at any suggestion Russia was involved in the Friday rail attack, with Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the notion “fake news,” state-owned news agency Tass reported.

Speaking to France 2 TV, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin separately said his ministry had identified the profiles of several people in relation to the rail attack, according to a France 24 translation. Darmanin said the “deliberate, very precise” type of action carried out was generally associated with far-left activists — with no mention of a specific campaign or political party — and did not provide evidence for the claim in the interview.

To date, no group has claimed responsibility for arson and other damages which stalled service on France’s high-speed rail lines.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.