The French authorities had prepared extensively to protect the security of the Summer Olympics that formally starts today with every conceivable hi-tech security measure in place to protect the venues, the competitors and the spectators.
Surveillance drones circle above the city, AI-equipped cameras on the ground, cyber security teams, and liaison teams from other police and security forces work to keep an eye out for any suspicious persons or activity. This is all backed up by 45,000 police officers, 18,000 military personnel and around 20,000 private security firms will be on duty in Paris for the duration of the Games.
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What doesn’t seem to have been considered was the likelihood of attacks taking place away from the capital and particularly the vulnerability of France’s key rail routes.
The attacks appeared to have been planned and carefully targeted at power lines and control boxes at just five strategic points along the state-owned SNCF rail network, resulting in almost half of trains in the north and east of France being canceled and the high speed TVG train system being brought to a halt on Friday.
Crowds of passengers were stranded at stations throughout the network with police having to be diverted to stations in and around Paris on Friday because of the large numbers of people gathering there.
A spokesperson for the railways told AFP that it had been “the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight with crucial cables being cut and signaling infrastructure being burned.”
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“This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyze the TGV network,” adding that many routes will need to be canceled with the situation likely to last “at least all weekend while repairs are conducted.”
Stoppages not only affected spectators heading towards Paris for the Games’ opening ceremony, including users of the Eurostar, but a number of competitors traveling to take part in the opening. In addition, almost a million French holidaymakers were expected to start the exodus from the capital and other major cities this weekend for their summer breaks.
Information boards at a number of stations warned of delays of two hours or more with signs in departure halls warning that normal traffic was not expected to resume before Monday, Jul 29, at the earliest.
No group or groups have claimed the attacks, and the French authorities have not yet accused anyone suspected of the sabotage. Possible suspects include terrorist groups, left-wing extremists or environmental activists but most commentators are already laying responsibility on President Vladimir Putin’s doorstep.
A French security expert, Jérôme Poirot, told the Telegraph, “We know that Russia and other countries want to interfere with the Olympic Games. There may be a plan in place to prevent the opening ceremony.”
France’s support for Ukraine that has increased both practically and vociferously in the last year has put it and other leading European backers of Kyiv firmly in Russia’s sights with the Kremlin seeking retribution through a campaign of sabotage, arson, cyber and disinformation attacks as part of Russian “hybrid warfare” strategy to undermine Western democracy.
Moscow agents are the prime suspects for carrying out or planning a series of arson attacks on businesses, key infrastructure and military logistic infrastructure connected to Ukraine in Germany, Czechia, Poland and the UK since the start of the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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