Communication Lines Vandalized In France, Paris Olympics Unaffected
The French Government has been investigating acts of vandalism that hit multiple telecommunications lines, including fiber lines and fixed and mobile phone lines in cities around France, according to reports from the Associated Press.
Organizers for the Paris Olympics confirmed that their operations were not impacted by the vandalism. The second largest telecommunications company in France stated they had to make several repairs in multiple areas so the impact of the vandalism would affect as few people as possible.
Hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics last Friday, train networks were hit with an arson attack, with the telecommunication vandalism coming shortly after.
“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 according to AP.
Damage in several regions affected multiple telecommunications operators from Sunday to Monday. Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, said the vandalism “led to local impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.”
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. The impact of the vandalism acts on its customers was very low because there are sufficient backups and workarounds,” SFR said in a statement.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
