France’s high-speed rail network hit by arson attacks, canceling trains ahead of Olympics

French railway operator SNCF said Friday it had faced “malicious acts” on its network, including arson attacks, which led to cancelled train services just ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris.

SNCF said in a statement that its network had experienced several concurrent attacks on Thursday night, with fire damaging its facilties. The high-speed LGV Atlantique line from Paris to the coast, along with the northern and eastern lines were affected.

“Following this massive attack aiming to paralyze the high-speed line network, a large number of trains were diverted or canceled,” SNCF said, according to a CNBC translation, advising those who are able to not to travel to the station. Ticket holders on disrupted journeys will be contacted by email or text, it added.

The knock-on effect is expected to cause delays on other domestic and intercity routes.

The impact also hit international Eurostar services, which connect the U.K., France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

“Due to coordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July. This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half,” Eurostar said in a statement.

“Several trains have been cancelled.”

Social media posts which have not been independently verified by CNBC alleged that passengers were being transferred onto local services at Lille to head on to Paris due to the theft of cables on the high-speed line. CNBC has contacted Eurostar for comment.

It was not immediately clear who perpetrated the incident.

The attacks come just ahead of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, due to take place along Paris’s River Seine at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET) on Friday. The display is set to feature tens of thousands of athletes and spectators along with a heavy police presence.