Rabat – France’s state-owned rail company SNCF announced that it has been the target of arson attacks directed at its high speed train network.
The announcement came as the country gears up for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games tonight.
The arson attack, described by the company as “massive,” has caused delays and cancellations, forcing SNCF to cancel a significant number of trains.
“We ask all travelers who can do so to postpone their trip and not go to the station,” SNCF posted on its social media.
French security services are running an investigation on the incident, Euro News reported.
Several French ministers took to social media today to condemn the attacks but stressed that there has been no immediate sign of a direct link to the Olympics.
“I strongly condemn these criminal acts which will jeopardise the holiday departures of many French people,” France’s Minister Delegate for Transport, Patrice Vergriete, said on X.
He also thanked the SNCF team who are “working hard to restore traffic conditions as quickly as possible.”
Amelie Oudea Castera, Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, also commented on the situation, describing it as “really appalling.”
“Acting against the games is acting against France, against your own side, against your country,” she told French broadcasting channel BFMTV.
The opening ceremony for this year’s Olympic Games is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Paris time.
This year, in a completely unique fashion, the event will take place along the River Seine and not within a stadium. Around 10,500 athletes are set to glide on boats along the Parisian river, proudly raising their country’s flags for spectators along the riverside and the world to see.
