France's TGV train services resume after arson attack disruptions

Paris: France's TGV high-speed train services are gradually resuming after severe disruptions caused by arson attacks, with one-third of the trains expected to be operational by Friday afternoon, announced the resigning Minister for Transport, Patrice Vergriete.

France's TGV high-speed train traffic on the Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern routes was severely disrupted due to arson attacks targeting installations, the French national rail company SNCF reported on its X social media account Friday morning.

According to the SNCF, 800,000 passengers were affected by the attacks, with some trains diverted and many canceled.

International travel through the English Channel and to neighbouring Belgium has also been disrupted, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite the attacks, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games on Friday evening will proceed unaffected, as the incidents have no impact on the transport network in the Paris region, confirmed Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, quoted by BFMTV.

"All the evidence indicates that these acts were deliberate," Vergriete told BFMTV on Friday. The resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, stated on X, "Our intelligence services and law enforcement agencies are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts."