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What do we understand about pre-Olympic attacks on France's railways?

Unknown saboteurs struck France's train network in a series of predawn attacks across the nation on Friday, causing travel turmoil and exposing security spaces simply hours before the opening event of the Paris Olympics.

What do we understand about the attacks?

THE ATTACKS

Explosive gadgets set off fires on signalling facilities on three train lines entering into Paris, rail operator SNCF said. The attacks struck the lines from cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east.

Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled.

One attack happened by lines near Courtalain, southwest of Paris, another in Pagny-sur-Moselle in northeast France and the other in Croisilles near the Belgian border.

Pictures launched by SNCF revealed engineers repairing charred cables in signal substations.

THE CRIMINAL

Nobody has actually declared duty for the attacks and France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal stated it was too early to speculate about who might be behind them. 2 security sources informed that the mode of attack indicated preliminary suspicions fell on leftist militants or environmental activists, but warned they did not yet have any evidence.

The Paris district attorney's workplace said an investigation would be managed by its organised crime workplace, with the anti-terrorist sub-directorate (SDAT), a branch of the judicial cops that usually keeps track of far-left, reactionary and radical ecological groups, collaborating investigations.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in June that the alliance had actually seen several examples of sabotage, of arson efforts by Russia, but there is no indication that Moscow may have lagged Friday's attacks in France.

THE IMPACT

The attacks marked an inauspicious start to the Olympic Games as France prepares to stage one of the most enthusiastic Opening Events ever seen.

Some 45,000 authorities, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 personal security representatives have been deployed to secure the Games' opening event. Snipers will be on rooftops, and drones in the air. But while the capital is locked down for the opening ceremony, security in other places in the nation is lighter.

SNCF chief Jean-Pierre Farandou stated some 800,000 consumers had been impacted ahead of a hectic weekend for French holidaymakers.

Eurostar's high-speed services linking London and Paris were required onto slower lines while Germany's Deutsche Bahn warned of disturbance to long-distance services. The attacks will make it tougher for people heading to Paris from other areas of France.

(source: Reuters)