A few days ago, France's railway system was attacked by an unknown group of assailants. This series of calculated attacks occurred hours before the 2024 Olympics' Opening Ceremony. Now, per the New York Post, a number of fiber optic networks have been sabotaged, too.
Reportedly, cables from several telecom operators were purposefully cut. This is corroborated in a statement from Agence France Presse's X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
"The fibre optic networks of several telecommunications operators have been 'sabotaged' in six areas of France but Paris is not affected, police said on Monday. The incident occurred three days after coordinated acts of sabotage paralyzed high-speed train services hours before the Olympics opening ceremony. Disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of people."
Furthermore, the attacks have mainly affected fixed-line services rather than mobile services. "I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible actions," said Marina Ferrari, France's Secretary of State for Digital Affairs. At this time, no one group has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks or acts of sabotage that have taken place over the past few days.
French Fiber Optics Networks Are Attacked During The 2024 Paris Olympics
France's second-largest telecoms company, SFR, seems to be the most affected by the attacks, per WIRED. "Our long-distance fiber network was sabotaged between 1 am and 3 am last night in five different locations," a spokesperson told the publication. SFR said its maintenance teams are working on repairing the damage, emphasizing that the impact on its customers was "limited."
"Also, between three and eight other operators are impacted since they use our long-distance network," the spokesperson clarified.
Nicolas Guillaume, the CEO of Nasca Group, shared several images of some of the cut cables on his X account. "Here is a photo of one of the cables cut last night... We are in full solidarity with our affected fellow operators. This is unacceptable. Netalis will obviously file a complaint as soon as possible in the coming days."
Voici une photo de l'un des câbles coupés cette nuit...
Nous sommes pleinement solidaires avec nos confrères opérateurs touchés. C'est inacceptable.
Netalis déposera plainte bien évidemment dès que possible dans les prochains jours. @lauredlr @Marina_Ferrari @GDarmanin pic.twitter.com/D8zqa2l72e
— Nicolas Guillaume (@nguillam) July 29, 2024
As of now, that's where the situation currently stands until more information is revealed. When we at Wide Open Country learn more, we'll be sure to keep our readership informed.
