Vandalism hits communication lines in France, but the Paris Olympics aren't affected

PARIS -- The French government was investigating after multiple telecommunications lines were by acts of vandalism Monday, affecting fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France host events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Organizers for the Paris Games say their operations were not affected. France's second largest telecommunications company said it had made repairs in several areas already or workarounds kept the scale of the impact low. Some other providers also got things back up and running later Monday.

The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony.

A national investigation has been launched into the attacks on optic cables and “the damage to the telecommunications systems,” according to Paris prosecutors. The crimes they’re investigating include damaging property with an intent to harm vital national interests and attacking data processing systems by an organized group, which carry 10- to 15-year prison sentences, prosecutors said.

Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X that damage in several regions overnight Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators. She said that led to local impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.

A French police official said there were issues in at least six of the country's administrative departments, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.

Paris 2024 organizers said they have been informed of acts of sabotage on fiber optic networks across several French departments but “we can only confirm that there is no impact on our operations.”

SFR, France's second-largest telecommunications company, said its long-distance network “was the target of acts of vandalism at five points in five departments between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m."

"Maintenance teams are on site to carry out repair work," SFR said in a statement. It added that the impact of the vandalism acts on its customers was “very low because there are sufficient backups and workarounds.”

Up to eight French and international operators, who use SFR's infrastructure, have been affected, the company also said, adding that full service has already been restored by Monday afternoon in several areas.

Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed they were affected. Free later said service had been restored after an “incident effecting multiple networks in 11 departments."

A national investigation also is underway into last week's train sabotage, which disrupted travel for nearly a million passengers in France as well as people in London and in other neighboring countries. Train traffic had largely resumed by Monday.

French media reported that an extreme-left activist was arrested at a rail facility on Sunday in the Seine-Maritime region of western France. But the Paris prosecutor’s office said it was unconnected to what happened Friday and that no one has been arrested so far in the national investigation into the arson attacks. ___

Surk reported from Nice. Nicolas Vaux-Montagny contributed from Lyon.