Vandalism in France disrupts phone lines amid ongoing Olympic games

PTC News Desk: As cities around France organise activities for the Paris Olympics 2024, the French government warned on Monday that acts of vandalism had affected various telecommunications networks, disrupting fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone services.

Shortly before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, days after arson attacks caused disruptions to train networks throughout France, there was vandalism. The nation’s telecom providers Bouygues and Free acknowledged that their services were affected, while the French media reportedly reported that SFR-operated lines had sustained damage.

It is unclear, meanwhile, how much of an impact there has been overall and whether Olympic activities have been impacted. The Secretary of State in charge of digital affairs, Marina Ferrari, stated on X that throughout the course of Sunday and Monday night, damage to various areas’ telecommunications infrastructure was sustained.

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“I vehemently denounce these reckless and cowardly actions.” She wrote, “I appreciate the crews that were mobilised this morning to fix the damaged sites and get them back up and running.”

At least six administrative departments were impacted, including the area surrounding Marseille, which is hosting Olympic soccer and sailing activities, a French police spokesman told news agency AP.

The Paris Olympics organizers have not yet provided a statement on the matter. Local media sources, however, claim that intentional cutting of cables within electrical cabinets occurred in southern France, and vandalism occurred against facilities in the Meuse region, close to Luxembourg, and the Oise region, close to Paris.

Targeting signal substations and cables, saboteurs launched coordinated attacks on France’s high-speed train network on Friday, July 26. Only a few hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, a predawn strike severely disrupted transport.

One “far-left extremist” was taken into custody by French Police after the attack. Normal train service returned on Monday morning, but not before causing major inconveniences to about 8,00,000 people, as reported by news agency Reuters. Among those impacted, 1,00,000 people had their trains completely cancelled.

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