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3 months ago
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A FAR-LEFT political group has claimed responsibility for the arson attacks on France’s train network last week that plunged the country’s transport into chaos.
The Paris Olympics were jeopardised on Friday when major rail networks were paralysed by a wave of “sabotage” hits.
Chaos at Gare Montparnasse train station in France after the attacks
The Eurostar service from St Pancras was also affected
French soldiers outside stations after the attacks
Some burnt cables after the arson hit
It came just hours ahead of the enormous opening ceremony along the River Seine, which was held under a mammoth security operation.
On Saturday a bizarre email was sent to several French and international media outlets including the New York Times, claiming responsibility for the attacks, Le Parisien reports.
Sent from sabotagetgvjo@riseup.net, the note was signed by an anonymous collective that dubbed itself “an unknown delegation”.
The email read: “They call it a party? We see it as a celebration of nationalism, a gigantic staging of the subjugation of populations by states.”
Domain name Rise Up, part of the group’s email address, is sometimes used by radical environmental or anarchist groups.
But it was not clear who exactly was behind the email or whether they were definitely responsible for the arson in France.
It comes as French cops arrested 45 people linked to Extinction Rebellion (XR), an extreme environmental group, this week in Paris, according to Le Parisien.
Some had organised a protest called “Forbidden Games” to push back “against the social and environmental destruction caused by Paris 2024”.
Different sub-groups from the radical organisation plotting “acts of sabotage” were snapped up across the capital.
Today a planned demonstration in the centre of the city was foiled by cops before activist had a chance to shut down the Pont des Arts bridge across the River Seine.
High speed rail services were cancelled across France following the “coordinated acts of malice” last week.
Almost a million fans, tourists, and athletes had gathered in the capital for the games.
Hordes of people were stuck at major Paris stations such as Gare Montparnasse, with one local dubbing it a “nightmare”.
A French railway operator told all passengers to postpone their trips and avoid going to stations.
Eurostar trains between London and Paris were also badly affected – with thousands of Brits being told to not travel today.
One security expert even speculated Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could be behind the anarchy, while Israel made a baseless claim that it was the Iranians.
US intelligence officials said the culprits were likely anarchists or extreme leftists, according to NBC.
Where did the attacks take place?
The attacks on the high speed rail lines took place at three places across France.
Operator SNCF says the fires were set in pipes that carried crucial cables used for signalling on the rail service.
Saboteurs hit Courtalain on the Atlantic high-speed line; Croisilles on the Northern high-speed line; and Pagny-sur-Moselle on the East high-speed line.
One attack on the Southeast line was stopped by maintenance workers who scared the group of people off, the Ministry of Transport said.
French airport Basel-Mulhouse was evacuated on Friday morning over a bomb threat.
The airport, near the Swiss border, was brought to a halt with “security” concerns plunging the aviation hub into chaos.
On its website, Basel-Mulhouse EuroAirport had said: “For safety reasons, the terminal had to be evacuated and is currently closed.”
But now the airport has reopened and flights are slowly set to resume
Travellers were made to evacuate the Basel-Mulhouse airport over a suspected bomb threat
Cops patrol the train tracks and assess vital cablework
Vital parts of the train tracks were fried
English (US)