The national basketball team is traveling by road from Lille to Paris to bypass the problems caused by the sabotage of the railway lines in France.
The team is already on its way and will return the same way to Lille late at night after the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. The distance between the two cities is about 200 kilometers and is typically covered in about 3 hours by conventional bus routes. However, the national team’s bus is being escorted by a strong police presence and is expected to travel faster. Even so, it is considered unlikely that the players will return to their hotel before 3:00 AM.
A similar plan is being followed by other basketball and handball teams based in Lille but wanting to attend the Opening Ceremony.
The initial plan, which had flag bearer Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the team traveling to and from Lille by special TGV train service (with a travel time of about 1 hour and 10 minutes) was abandoned after the overnight sabotage of the railway network.
At least four of the scheduled TGV services from Paris to Lille for the rest of the day were canceled, while several others are uncertain. The 12:25 service is expected to depart with a three-hour delay due to “acts of vandalism,” as stated on the SNCF company website. Fires were set at various points of the network around 4:00 AM.
Officials believe it will take several days to repair the lines and normalize the situation. According to SNCF, thousands of workers are already on the job. “France is under attack by a handful of madmen,” said the company’s general director, Jean-Pierre Farandou.
“It was a massive sabotage aimed at paralyzing the railway network. It’s not just the Olympic Games, but also the weekend that marks the start of summer holidays for hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens.” It is estimated that at least 800,000 travelers will be affected by the sabotage.
