World

Telecoms infrastructure vandalised in France: reports

By AAP Newswire

Jul 29, 2024

A file photo of a woman in Paris — Telecommunications infrastructure in several parts of France has reportedly been damaged. -EPA

Telecommunications infrastructure belonging to two French companies has been vandalised, French media have reported.

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The companies SFR and Bouygues Telecom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The reports by Le Parisien newspaper and BFM TV on Monday said cables in electrical cabinets had been cut in southern France, and telecommunication installations in the Meuse region near Luxembourg and the Oise area near Paris had been vandalised, affecting mainly fixed-line services.

Saboteurs targeted France's high-speed rail network on Friday with pre-dawn attacks on signal substations and cables, causing travel chaos hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said one far-left extremist had been arrested on Sunday in relation to that case.

Traffic only returned to normal on Monday morning after some 800,000 people faced disruptions, including 100,000 people whose trains had to be cancelled outright.

The reports by Le Parisien and BFM TV did not state if there were any links between the vandalism of the telecoms infrastructure and the earlier sabotage of the rail network.Â