Attacks on French railways cause chaos before Olympic ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Security Previews - Gare du Nord, Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Police officers patrol Gare du Nord station after threats against France's high-speed TGV network, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. REUTERS/Yves Herman

PARIS (Reuters) - Saboteurs struck France's TGV high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks across the country, causing travel chaos and exposing security gaps ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony later on Friday.

The coordinated sabotage took place as France mounted a massive security operation involving tens of thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the capital for the sporting extravaganza, sucking in security resources from across the country.