2024 Olympics: France in Chaos
Railroad transportation is blocked by saboteurs. Airports evacuated due to a bomb threat. About a million passengers were unable to take off. 60,000 law enforcers will not be enough to guarantee the safety of athletes and spectators
France is in shock: Friday, July 26, when the Olympic opening ceremony is scheduled for the evening on the Seine in Paris, was marked by total chaos and rising tension. In an extraordinary announcement, the French rail transportation management company SNCF announced numerous “subversions” on the high-speed rail network. At various locations around the country, “electrical and electronic systems controlling traffic have been set on fire,” and some cables have been cut, halting rail passenger service.
For hours, several rail lines remained blocked not only in the north and east of the country, but also in the Eurostar tunnel, which runs under the English Channel and connects France to Britain. In addition to railroads, air transportation was also affected by the disruptions: the Basel-Mulhouse airport on the Swiss border was evacuated due to a bomb threat and remained closed until late afternoon.
France’s attorney general has launched an investigation into the sabotage, emphasizing, however, that “those responsible for these attacks on critical rail infrastructure remain unknown at this time.” However, the French media immediately pointed the finger at extreme left-wing organizations and movements.
The French government has set up a sort of “crisis cell,” and outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has appealed to the French people and tourists for “prudence.” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the press at the Elysee Palace that he “will not make public statements about what happened.”
SNCF President Jean-Pierre Farandou told the media that the disruptions will affect about one million travelers. Many were unable to travel to Paris in the afternoon to attend the opening ceremony of the Games on Friday night, which also loomed over the uncertainty of bad weather, with the weather service predicting a “high probability of rain.”
Regardless of rain or no rain, starting at 7:30 p.m. local time on the Seine, some 7000 Olympic athletes will march for four hours aboard 85 boats in front of more than 300,000 spectators who will watch the spectacle on the riverbank. The six-kilometer-long run will start from the Alexander III Bridge and reach the Trocadero. 45,000 police and gendarmerie officers, 18,000 soldiers, and a hundred divers are supposed to guarantee security for the Games, but given what happened on opening day, they may not be enough.