Vandalism hits communication lines in France during Paris Olympics

The French government has reported that a number of telecommunications lines have been vandalised, affecting fibre optics, landline and mobile phone services, as cities across France host events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism follows arson attacks on rail networks in France on Friday, hours before the Olympic opening ceremony.

Marina Ferrari, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the damage in several regions during the night from Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators. She said that this led to a local impact on access to fiber optic lines and landline and mobile telephone lines.

The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games did not want to comment on the matter.

A French police official said at least six French administrative departments had been affected, including the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, where Olympic soccer and sailing competitions are being held.

Telecoms operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services had been affected. French media reported that lines operated by provider SFR were also affected. Parent company Free said its teams were being mobilised to restore services.

A national investigation is underway into last week’s train sabotage, which disrupted the journeys of almost a million passengers in France, as well as people in London and neighbouring countries. Train services largely resumed on Monday.

French media reported that a far-left activist was arrested at a train station in the Seine-Maritime region in western France on Sunday. However, the Paris prosecutor’s office said it was not related to Friday’s events and that no one had been arrested so far in the national arson investigation.