Far-Left Extremists Suspected in France Rail Sabotage Amid Olympic Opening Ceremony

France's SNCF rail network faced sabotage suspected to be by far-left extremists, coinciding with the Olympic Games opening ceremony. The attacks caused significant travel disruption. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete have outlined the extent of the damage and ongoing investigations to apprehend the culprits.

France is leaning towards the likelihood that far-left extremists were behind last week's sabotage of the country's SNCF rail network, coinciding with the Olympic Games opening ceremony, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced.

Saboteurs targeted the high-speed train network on Friday, executing pre-dawn attacks on signal substations and cables at critical points, leading to travel chaos just hours before the opening ceremony. "We have identified the profiles of several individuals," Darmanin stated on France 2 TV, as authorities continue hunting the perpetrators. He added that their mode of operation suggested far-left extremist involvement, though he provided no specific examples.

Train services were restored by Monday morning after teams worked tirelessly over the weekend to repair the damage, noted Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete on RTL radio. The attacks disrupted travel plans for about 800,000 people, including 100,000 who faced outright train cancellations. Vergriete added that the financial impact on state-owned rail operator SNCF would be considerable.

(With inputs from agencies.)