France’s rail network has been’paralysed’ by a series of co-ordinated 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 been told to cancel their trips where possible while the situation resolves itself.
Thousands of people from the UK are due to travel to Paris by rail today for the start of the Olympics, including the majority of Team GB.
Trains to neighbouring Belgium and to London under the English Channel have also been affected, with warnings for people to delay their travel.
Three fires were reported near the tracks of the French Atlantique, Nord and Est high-speed lines by local media.
Lines in the west, north and east of France were also targeted, resulting in chaos.
The attacks have happened throughout France
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.
‘Eurostar’s 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.’
The British Olympic Association confirmed that only two athletes were scheduled to arrive on Friday and had been subject to minor delays.
Yo and Beatrix, who are returning to their home in Antwerp after a romantic two-day getaway in Paris, are among the hundreds of people stranded at Gare du Nord. The couple have stationed themselves in front of the schedule board and are watching the delay of their Eurostar to Amsterdam grow – 20 minutes, then 30 and now 50.
Armed with all the patience in the world, they are still waiting for an update from Eurostar.
Speaking to Metro UK about the delays, Yo criticised how the disruptions are being handled. He said: ‘We have received zero updated. Nil. We have to go back today as it is Beatrix’ birthday on Sunday and we have a lot of family travelling to Antwerp to celebrate with us. I have experience travelling with Eurostar for business and this does not surprise me at all. It has happened before.’
Maxi and her 12-year-old daughter Iva are in a similar situation. Their train to Cologne was supposed to depart at 9.55am Paris time, but it has now been delayed by another hour and a half.
The mum fears that the delays will continue throughout the day. But she keeps positive, telling Metro UK: ‘At least it is not a terrorist attack.’ Maxi has already looked at the price of renting a car to drive to Cologne but it starts at 1,000 euros.
Beyond the opening ceremony in Paris, transport minister Patrice Vergriete said the ‘criminal actions will compromise the holiday departures of many French people.’
According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train (Picture: Getty)
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, France’s sports minister, has said it is unclear who carried out arson attacks on France’s high-speed train network.
Speaking to Sky News, the minister said the attacks were ‘probably a large-scale sabotage’ and were likely co-ordinate.
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.
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’.
At least 800,000 people have been affected by the series of attacks.