France has waited 100 years to host the Olympic Games again. The long awaited day has arrived, but things went off the rails when train lines were targeted just hours before the Olympics. Transportation to the Olympics, which are expected to host approximately 10,500 athletes and over 320,000 spectators, has been completely disrupted!
“MALICIOUS PEOPLE”
The French national railway company, SNCF, made a statement on its X account regarding the disruption in train services ahead of the Olympic Games. The statement, reported by AA, stated that train services in the west, north and east of France were affected by “the actions of malicious individuals.”
THEY SAID “GREAT ATTACK” AND EXPLAINED ITS PURPOSE
The SNCF statement noted that trains to neighboring Belgium and under the Channel to London were also disrupted due to these actions. The statement said that many trains were diverted to different lines or cancelled following “this major attack aimed at disrupting the high-speed rail network.”
CALL TO PASSENGERS: POSTPONE! DO NOT GO TO THE STATION
The statement, which emphasized that those affected by the disruptions in railway transportation will be notified, said, “We ask all our passengers who have the opportunity to postpone their journeys and not to go to the station.”
TRANSPORTATION DISRUPTION UNTIL MONDAY
Disruption is expected throughout the weekend as work crews oversee repairs. Travel on rail lines will be disrupted until at least Monday after a fire broke out near the tracks in Courtalain in northern France, affecting services to Paris, the country’s central bank said.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AUDIENCE WOULD ATTEND
The rail problems came just hours before the Olympic torch relay was due to end and the opening ceremony along the Seine River is expected to draw more than 320,000 spectators.
FRENCH MINISTER: THIS IS COORDINATED SABOTAGE
French Minister of Sport, the Olympics and Paralympics Amélie Oudéa-Castera said the disruption to train lines was “a form of coordinated sabotage.” Speaking to CNN affiliate BFMTV, Oudéa-Castera condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms” and said they were “truly appalling.”
Oudéa-Castera also said the incidents would disrupt Friday and the weekend.