French authorities have not ruled out foreign involvement in the sabotage that damaged signal stations and cables on France's high-speed rail network, causing chaos on the opening day of the Olympic Games.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin made the statement, according to Reuters.
Foreign involvement in sabotage in France
—Who is responsible? Either from within or by order from abroad — it's too early to say, — Darmanin said.
He added that French authorities had found “a number of elements that lead us to believe that we will know fairly quickly who is responsible”.
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Two security sources told Reuters on Friday that initial suspicions had fallen on leftist militants or environmentalists, given the modus operandi, but there was no evidence yet.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete and the head of rail operator SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou told reporters on Saturday that services on France's high-speed rail network should be back online by Monday.
SNCF confirmed that transport plans for teams participating in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be guaranteed.
Sabotage on the railway in France
Recall that on Friday, before the start of the Olympic Games in France, infrastructure was damaged on the railway lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line has been thwarted, SNCF officials said.
No claim of responsibility has been made.
French authorities soon after called the incident sabotage and an attack on France.
The sabotage prevented about 100,000 people from boarding their trains and delayed another 150,000, but eventually reached their destinations, Vergriete said.
