Copper Cable Theft Disrupts Phone Service

Sept. 14, 2006— -- Residents of two villages in eastern France could make no phone calls on Thursdayafter criminals stole 550 metres (600 yards) of copper cable, a day after copper thieves disrupted train traffic in the west.

Theft of the metal has become increasingly common in Franceas thieves try to cash in on soaring copper prices, which havemore than doubled in the past year.

The thieves took more than a tonne of copper cables that hadbeen dug out and left exposed awaiting repair work, operatorFrance Telecom said. The theft caused tens of thousands of euros(dollars) of damage.

Phone services in the Oltingue and Wolschwiller villagesshould be restored by Friday, the operator said.

On Wednesday, criminals stole copper cables used for railwaysignalling, disrupting high-speed train traffic between thesouthwestern city of Bordeaux and Paris.