The French railway company SNCF reported that overnight on Thursday into Friday, it suffered a “massive attack of sufficient scale to cause paralysis” of the high-speed TGV network, which has been “severely disrupted.” According to Le Parisien, at least 800,000 passengers have been affected.

An SNCF official explained that some network cables were “cut and then burned,” and these cables “contain wires that need to be reconnected one by one,” detailing the extensive nature of the repairs. French intelligence initially dismissed the possibility of a cybersecurity issue in the attacks against SNCF.

According to AFP, most of the attacks were incendiary, with unknown perpetrators setting train cars on fire. “They wanted to burn our facilities,” said a source to AFP. Trains are being rerouted to different lines, but a large number of services will need to be canceled, according to the company’s announcement.

“The situation is expected to last at least through the weekend while repairs are made,” SNCF clarified.

Three high-speed train routes were vandalized overnight in France, causing significant disruptions on the day of the official opening of the Paris Olympic Games, as reported by Reuters.

Targeted and Planned Attack

The scale of the attack suggests it was “planned,” according to a source from the Ministry of Transport. “Generally, the railway network is vulnerable, but strategic points were targeted. Simultaneous actions on different lines are extremely suspicious,” said a railway company manager, describing the acts as complex and coordinated.

Hundreds of Workers to Repair Damage

Repair efforts “will be a masterpiece of engineering,” said sources from the French railway. Several hundred people will work continuously from now until the end of the weekend, an SNCF official explained on Friday morning, assuring that “by the end of the day, we will have a clearer picture.”

Where the Incidents Happened

The incidents occurred on SNCF lines in Vergigny (Yonne), the LGV Paris-Marseille line, Vald’Yerre (Eure-et-Loir), the LGV Atlantique line, and Croisilles (Pas-de-Calais), as well as the LGV Paris-Lille line. Two damage incidents were reported between the TGV Meuse and Lamorville (Meuse) stations and between Pagny sur Moselle (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and Lamorville.