The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by vandalism affecting fibre lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France are hosting events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony.
Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on social media platform X that damage in several regions overnight on Sunday into Monday affected telecommunications operators.
She said that led to localised impact on access to fibre lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.
Paris 2024 Olympics organisers would not immediately comment.
A French police official said at least six of France's administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.
Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected.
French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit. The parent company of Free said its teams are mobilised to restore services.
A national investigation is under way into Friday's train sabotage, which disrupted travel for nearly a million passengers in France as well as people in London and in other neighbouring countries. Train traffic had largely resumed by Monday.
French media reported that an extreme-left activist was arrested at a rail facility on Sunday in the Seine-Maritime region of western France.
But the Paris prosecutor's office said it was unconnected to what happened on Friday and no one has been arrested so far in the national investigation into the arson attacks.
Australian Associated Press
