Vandalism Hits Communication Lines in France During Paris Olympics

The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by acts of vandalism, affecting fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France are hosting events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony.

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Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X that damage in several regions overnight Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators. She said that led to localized impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.

Paris 2024 Olympics organizers would not immediately comment.

A French police official said at least six of France’s administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.

Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected. French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit. The parent company of Free said its teams are mobilized to restore services.

A national investigation is underway into last week’s train sabotage, which disrupted travel for nearly a million passengers in France as well as people in London and in other neighboring countries. Train traffic had largely resumed by Monday.

French media reported that an extreme-left activist was arrested at a rail facility on Sunday in the Seine-Maritime region of western France. But the Paris prosecutor’s office said it was unconnected to what happened Friday and that no one has been arrested so far in the national investigation into the arson attacks.

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