French minister considers foreign involvement in high-speed rail sabotage on Olympic opening day

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PARIS. France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has stated that the possibility of foreign involvement in the recent sabotage of the country’s high-speed rail network cannot be ruled out. The attacks, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, targeted signal stations and cables, disrupting travel on the first day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The sabotage affected critical infrastructure along major rail routes, including connections from Paris to Lille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg. An attempted attack on the Paris-Marseille line was thwarted, according to the French national rail operator, SNCF.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. “Who is responsible? Either it’s from within, or it’s been ordered from abroad, it’s too early to say,” Darmanin told France 2 television. He added, “We have uncovered a certain number of elements which lead us to believe that we will know fairly quickly who is responsible.”

Initial suspicions have focused on leftist militants or environmental activists due to the nature of the attacks though no evidence has yet been found to support these theories, according to two security sources.

Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete and SNCF Chief Jean-Pierre Farandou assured the public that normal traffic on the high-speed rail network is expected to resume by Monday. Vergriete confirmed that, despite the disruption, transport plans for Olympic teams would remain unaffected.

The rail chaos impacted approximately 100,000 travelers who missed their trains, while another 150,000 experienced delays but eventually reached their destinations.

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Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.