An “ultra-left militant” was apprehended in north-west France on Sunday due to suspicious behavior near a railway facility, as reported by local authorities. Law enforcement officers discovered a range of items in the suspect’s vehicle, including keys to technical premises, pliers, universal keys, and literature associated with ultra-left ideologies.
The 28-year-old individual is undergoing police interrogation in Rouen. Current investigations reveal no direct connections between him and the suspected coordinated arson attacks on railway lines that occurred on Friday, just ahead of the anticipated opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games.
These acts of sabotage resulted in significant disruptions to high-speed TGV services to and from Paris, creating widespread travel chaos throughout the country. On Monday morning, France’s Minister of the Interior highlighted that law enforcement has identified several potential suspects linked to these deliberate acts of sabotage, which he characterized as both targeted and methodical.
Minister Darmanin noted that the tactics observed are indicative of methods traditionally employed by ultra-left groups, suggesting there may be a political motive behind the disruptions. He stated, “The question is whether they were manipulated or acting of their own accord,” expressing confidence in investigators’ ability to locate those responsible for the incidents.
While Darmanin refrained from asserting that the saboteurs were linked to personnel within France’s national rail operator, he emphasized the precision of the attack locations, remarking, “It was obviously extremely well targeted… and it affected three major lines.”
Additionally, around 50 individuals have been arrested in connection with potential sabotage or radical protests aimed at disrupting events during the Olympic Games, with estimates suggesting that around 150 people were involved in these plans.
In a worrying development, reports have emerged of severed fiber optic cables across six locations in France, resulting in partial outages starting overnight Sunday into Monday. The relationship between this telecom vandalism and the railway sabotage remains under investigation, which previously affected approximately 250,000 passengers on Friday and hundreds of thousands over the subsequent weekend.
No organization has claimed responsibility for either incident thus far, although a security source hinted at potential connections to extreme left groups. France’s Transport Minister announced on Monday that train services have resumed normal operations after emergency repair teams worked throughout the weekend. He also disclosed that “considerable means,” including drones and police helicopters, have been deployed to bolster security across the extensive railway network.
The financial impact of these sabotages is projected to reach several million euros.
