Paris Olympics: Far-left extremist arrested for sabotaging high-speed rail network
Passengers wait for their train departures on the platform at the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean train station
The French authorities have arrested a far-left extremist in connection to the sabotage attack on the country's high-speed rail network on the day of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony last week.
Interior MinisterGerald Darmanin informed about the arrest on Monday (Jul 29), adding that the government suspects the role of far-left groups behind the coordinated attack.
"We have identified the profiles of several people.This is the traditional type of action of the ultra-left," Darmanin told a French news channel.
Notably, the arrest comes on the same day as when opticfibre networks were sabotaged in six areas across France.
In recent years, France has witnessed a rise in attacks by Islamist militants but authorities are equally worried about the rise of far-left and anarchist militants who usually protest against the state and its approval of capitalism.
Reports indicate that far-left groups have increased recruitment in the last year after President Emmanuel Macron pushed his highly unpopular pension reforms.
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Nicolas Lerner, former head of France's domestic intelligence agency, said last year that far-left groups are often involved in damaging the public infrastructure to make their point heard.
"In recent years, the far-left movements have been known for particularly violent clandestine actions, including arson campaigns,ransacking and destruction of property," Lerner told Le Monde newspaper.
Watch |Paris Olympics: WION Sports Editor's first-hand account of tight security after rail sabotage
Status of rail lines?
National rail operator SNCF on Sunday (JUL 28) said the damage had been repaired and trains were back running on time.
"Thanks to the exceptional efforts of SNCF Network staff, who worked non-stop since Friday morning, repairs are now fully completed on all the high-speed rail services affected by the sabotage attacks," the operator said.
What happened?
The incident took place on Friday (Jul 26), hours before the start of the Opening ceremony that crippled the entire rail network across the country.
According to reports, the cables which are there to ensure the security of train drivers - were set on fire and taken apart by the disruptors.
Around 800,000 passengers were affected by the disruption on a day when France was preparing to show the world its hosting prowess. Additionally,two of the four trains carrying athletes were affected by the outage as well.
(With inputs from agencies)