France’s sports minister said she has not ruled out Russian sabotage after arson attacks caused chaos on the country’s high-speed train network hours before the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics.
Rail services into the French capital were crippled after “malicious” fires at two key rail installations brought trains to a halt. A third attack was thwarted, but Eurostar services between London and Paris were also hit by vandalism and passengers were being advised not to travel.
“A massive attack took place last night to paralyze the high-speed rail network,” SNCF, the French rail network, said in a statement.