The Paris police commissioner has announced that additional policemen will be deployed to strengthen security at Paris train stations following nocturnal attacks on SNCF railway lines.
Laurent Nunez told French TV France Info that additional police officers were ordered to Paris stations on Friday due to enormous crowds detained there as a result of major disruptions.
Earlier, the French train company SNCF said that its rail lines had been vandalised overnight ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
“The SNCF was a victim overnight of several simultaneous malicious acts on LGV Atlantique, North & East,” a spokeswoman for the organization revealed. The business stated that its high-speed line, LGV South-east, was not affected, and an act was prevented. SNCF teams are on the field to begin repairs, the statement added.
High-speed traffic is significantly disrupted on some routes, according to the firm, and customers are advised to postpone their travels. Rail location cabinets were damaged, and cables were set ablaze and severed on certain northern and eastern lines, according to sources, BFMTV reported.
Around 800,000 people were interrupted, and traffic in one of Paris’ biggest stations, Montparnasse, will not resume until at least 1 pm (1100GMT), according to local media.
In an interview with BFMTV, Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera stated that traffic will be “disrupted today and probably also the weekend.”
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete decried the “coordinated malicious acts” that would have an impact on many French holiday travelers.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will officially begin on Friday with an opening ceremony on the Seine River. The football, archery, and rugby competitions began earlier this week, before the ceremony.
