Paris Olympics 2024: Vandalism Hits The Games, Mobile Phone Cables Cut With Axe After Arson Attack On Trains

The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by acts of vandalism, affecting fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France are hosting events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities.

The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony. A far-left activist, according to UK broadcaster Sky News, was arrested in connection with the arson attacks on France’s high-speed train network.

The arson attacks impacted travel ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X that damage in several regions overnight Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators. She said that led to localized impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.

Several politicians had hinted that “ultra-left” activists might be behind the Friday’s attacks on the rail network but nothing has been confirmed.

A French police official said at least six of France’s administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.

Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected. French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit. The parent company of Free said its teams are mobilized to restore services.

“It’s vandalism,” said Nicolas Chatin, spokesman for SFR, one of France’s four biggest operators.

“Large sections of cables were cut. You would have to use an axe or a grinder,” he told AFP.

“What frankly makes us furious is that we feel the state has not realised the importance of these potential attacks on France’s strategic infrastructures,” said Nicolas Guillaume of Netalis, a specialised operator.

“We’ve already seen it with what happened to (rail operator) SNCF.”

It is not yet clear if police are linking the two sets of sabotage attacks.