The movement of French high-speed trains (TGV) was severely disrupted on a number of lines on the opening day of the Olympic Games after deliberate arson last night, BFMTV reported on Friday, citing a communiqué from the French National Railways Company (SNCF).
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The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics will take place in Paris on Friday evening.
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“This night, SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts affecting the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed train lines. The deliberate arson was committed with the aim of damaging our facilities,” the company said in a statement.
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In the northern direction, communication between Paris and Lille has been stopped since early morning; the resumption of normal train traffic is expected only on July 29, SNCF itself indicates on its website.
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In addition, communication was interrupted between Paris and the cities of Tours and Le Mans in the west of the country, and severe interruptions were observed on the line. A similar situation arose in the eastern direction, where train traffic was also significantly hampered. The resumption of service on these two lines is expected on July 27, the company said.
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SNCF reported that the malicious act was also prevented on the south-east line, where communications were not disrupted.
