French High-Speed Rail Arrest Unrelated to Olympic Games Sabotage

Passengers gather around the departure and arrival boards at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris, France, on July 26, 2024. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images)

A man arrested after reportedly behaving suspiciously near a railway site is not linked to a suspected coordinated arson attack ahead of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, French authorities say.

On July 26, France’s high-speed TGV rail network was paralyzed by vandalism and arson attacks just hours before the Olympic Games in Paris were set to open.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday retweeted a media story that reported that a far-left activist was arrested in connection with a sabotage attack on France’s high-speed rail network on July 28.

Le Figaro said that a student of the movement of the “ultra-left” was arrested on Sunday, July 28, with “several cans of spray paint,” at a SNCF site in Oissel (Seine-Maritime), in the northern part of France.

Providing more details on the arrest on Tuesday evening, a spokeswoman for the Rouen Prosecutor’s Office told The Epoch Times by email that a 28-year-old man was arrested on July 28.

Police were called after a train driver saw several people near an SNCF railway section, and one person was spotted fleeing, according to the spokesperson.

He said that the individual’s vehicle remained at the scene and he was arrested when he came to collect it. Various objects, including several spray paint cans, were allegedly found inside the vehicle.

“The individual, born in October 1995, denied any involvement in acts of vandalism against the SNCF, explaining that he had come to this site, which was not accessible to the public, to create ‘street art,’” he said.

The spokesperson said that the individual is in police custody on charges of entering or moving around in a railway area closed to the public and criminal association.

“No damage has been noted at this stage by the SNCF. Investigations are continuing to determine the circumstances of these events,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, whose organized crime branch is leading the investigation into the attacks, told The Epoch Times by email on Tuesday, that there is no link between this recent arrest and the TGV rail network vandalism and arson.

“There are no arrests in the investigation by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime into the sabotage of the SNCF,” she said.

On Monday, Mr. Darmanin told France 2 TV that the government had identified the profiles of several people, adding that the sabotage bore the hallmarks of far-left groups.

French and international media outlets also received a mystery email from a far-left collective called “délégation inconnue” which claimed responsibility for the July 26 attacks, according to Le Parisien.

Last week, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office told The Epoch Times by email that some of the crimes carry a sentence of up to 20 years’ prison time and up to 300,000 euros ($330,000) in fines.

The charges include damage to property affecting national interests, attempted damage by dangerous means in an organized group, and attacks on automated data systems.

On Sunday, the train operator SNCF said in an email alert that repair work is now fully completed on all high-speed lines affected by Friday’s sabotage, having initially affected more than 250,000 customers over the weekend.

“The test phases have been conclusive, and the lines can now be operated normally,” it said.

SNCF added that as of Monday “there will be no further disruption.”

‘Cowardly, Irresponsible Acts’

France’s Junior Minister for Digital Matters, Marina Ferrari, said in a July 29 post on the social media platform X that telecom networks suffered isolated outages after acts of vandalism overnight.

“Damages committed in several departments last night affected our telecommunications operators,” Ms. Ferrari said, adding that the attacks had “localized consequences on access to fiber, fixed telephony, and mobile telephony.”

“Under my supervision, the defense electronic communications service is cooperating with operators until communications and services are fully restored,” she said. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts.”

The Epoch Times contacted the Interior Minister for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.