Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Pre-planned and co-ordinated, these acts of sabotage were clearly aimed at bringing the four arteries of the TGV network out from Paris to the rest of the country to a standstill.

To a large degree they succeeded. Only the southern route to Lyon and Marseille was spared, mainly because SNCF workers were able to foil the attack at the last minute.

France's high-speed TGV trains criss-cross the country at 300km/h (186mph), and the network is largely rural which makes its infrastructure more vulnerable.

Caretaker Prime Minister Gabriel Attal went so far as to call the sites targeted as "nerve centres".

The head of state-owned rail company SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, said whoever was behind the sabotage had targeted intersections on the network to have the most serious impact "since each fire cut off two lines" and damaged critical signalling cables.

To the south-east of Paris, at Courtalain, the saboteurs targeted cables close to an intersection on the so-called Atlantic line, with routes heading towards Brittany on one side and the south-west of France on the other.

In the east, they set fire to cables near a fork in the high-speed line heading either to Metz or Strasbourg.

And with that, we are ending our live coverage of the arson attacks in France - but you can hop over to our live commentary of tonight's Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.

Thank you for joining us.

Image source, EPA

France has grappled with chaos on its railway network today after the French rail company SNCF said its high-speed network had been targeted by "malicious acts" aimed at paralysing the system. Here's where things stand tonight:

• Signal boxes along three lines connecting Paris with major cities to the north, east and southwest were damaged by fires in a "massive attack"
• A further arson attack on a fourth line towards the south-east was foiled by authorities
• The president of SNCF said the attackers started fires in "conduits carrying multiple (fibre-optic) cables" that relay "safety information for drivers"
• Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation
• Engineers are working to fix the damage, however disruption is expected to last the entire weekend with SNCF estimating some 800,000 passengers affected
• Eurostar will be cancelling one in four of its trains across its entire network throughout the weekend
• It comes as Parisians take off on month-long summer breaks en mass, known as the grand départ, and the Olympic Opening Ceremony this evening

This page is about to close, but you can keep up with all of the action from Paris on the Olympic live page here.

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

This was a well-planned and well co-ordinated act of sabotage and does not look like the work of just one or two individuals. Multiple sites were hit far apart during the night. And those behind it knew what they were doing, understanding which cables to hit in order to cause maximum disruption.

But the authorities are not yet saying who they think was responsible. Security has been intense because Paris is facing a series of threats from different quarters – in some cases against athletes from particular countries, sometimes against the games as a whole.

One threat is from jihadists – but this is not typically the kind of thing they would do.

Another is from the Russians trying to disrupt the games, especially over France’s support for Ukraine.

French officials believe there has been a propaganda campaign in recent months against their country and a forty-year-old Russian was arrested in Paris on Sunday allegedly planning to cause disruption at the Olympics including of the opening ceremony.

But there’s also domestic opposition to the games. This comes from hard left activists who dislike the Olympics and who also dislike the current French government of President Macron.

The language of some French officials suggested perhaps they initially leant more towards this last group attack but that seems to have been based on the nature of the attack rather than anything more.

Officials will want to see evidence from the scene and where any surveillance footage or individuals or vehicles takes them before they point the finger at anyone firmly.

As thousands of train passengers deal with the aftermath of what rail operator SNCF has called a "premeditated, calculated, co-ordinated" attack, repairs on France's damaged network are well underway.

Pre-dawn arson attacks on vital junctions of the high-speed rail network crippled the system so rail workers have been hard at work repairing signal boxes and replacing damaged cables.

Here's a closer look at some of the work that's being carried out in northern France to get the trains back on track as soon as possible.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier today, the French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the perpetrators of the attack had knowledge of the rail network as they had targeted the "nerve centres" of the system.

"What we know, what we see is that this operation was prepared, coordinated, that 'nerve centres' were targeted, which shows a form of knowledge of the network to know where to strike," Attal said during a visit to the transport ministry crisis centre.

"I can’t tell you more about the authors and their motivations. But I see the impact, a massive impact for many of our fellow citizens," he said.

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, combined with people going on holiday at the start of the grand départ - a busy day for major rail network disruption to happen.

Some people have been hitting the road to find a way round the train cancellations and delays.

A spokesperson for the bus company Flixbus France has told BFMTV it's seen a 15% increase in reservations after the disruption on the country's rail network. Blablacar, an online carpooling platform, has also said it's recorded "three times more" reservations for buses and shared car journeys.

If you're still hoping to use the railways, check your train is running as disruption is expected to continue into the weekend.

SNCF has said tickets can be refunded and exchanged, and Eurostar has said journeys can be cancelled, modified, or refunded.

SNCF has just posted a small update on X - detailing that teams continue to work towards a "gradual recovery".

Signal experts have also been deployed and are testing each damaged cable, it says.

Paul Kirby and Andrew Harding

Image source, Courtesy of Vald’Yerre municipality

Everything was in place.

Streets in the centre of Paris have been blocked off, metro stations closed and thousands of police, soldiers and other guards deployed to maintain security ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony.

But the saboteurs struck away from the capital, at five apparently unguarded places.

French rail company SNCF says the saboteurs either vandalised or tried to vandalise five signal boxes and electricity installations between 01:00 and 05:30 on Friday.

One site was at Courtalain, east of Le Mans and 150km to the south-west of Paris. The local community's social media page posted a picture of burnt-out cables in a shallow gulley, with its protective SNCF paving stones discarded.

SNCF spoke of a "massive, large-scale attack aimed at paralysing" its services, involving arson and theft targeting cabling, not just at Courtalain but at Pagny-sur-Moselle, a village outside the eastern city of Metz and Croisilles, not far from the northern city of Arras.

• You can read more on this story here

Image source, EPA

David Lappartient from CNOSF (French National Olympic and Sports Committee) has confirmed that, to his knowledge, no French athletes have been impacted by the "acts of sabotage".

Speaking to BFM's RMC Sport, he adds that they condemn what's happened but that they've verified with teams that no athlete has been impacted.

Our enthusiasm is "intact", he says.

Elsewhere we are picking up that this may not be true of all athletes - AFP has reported that two trains carrying athletes to Paris have arrived, one was delayed and a fourth was to be transferred over to another train.

French rail operator SNCF will announce a new transport plan very soon, according to the Ministry of Transport.

This follows a day of extended delays across France's high-speed rail network due to what the SNCF has described as a "massive attack aimed at paralysing the network".

Thousands of people heading to Paris for tonight's opening ceremony of the Olympics or leaving the French capital for summer holidays have faced severe delays or cancelled services.

We'll keep you updated as we hear more from SNCF.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

We're just heard some comments from Gérald Darmanin, French interior minister, who says "we are ready" to welcome the parade.

Speaking to BFMTV, he thanks police and military personnel. He explains they have just opened the controls to begin allowing those with tickets to come and see the ceremony.

He adds that he believes the "fête" will not be comparable to anything in the world.

Today for the opening ceremony and for Paris there are more than 50,000 police and military patrolling and carrying out checks - this is additional to private security and local police, he continues.

Reuters have reported that Darmanin further expressed his wish to make arrests quickly over the rail network sabotage.

Renaissance MP for Yvelines says the attacks on the French rail network are an attempt to "damage the image of the country".

Speaking to Newshour on the BBC World Service, Natalia Pouzyreff says she believes "people in France are very responsible".

"They know that these malicious attacks were not there to injure people, but just a political action against the government and to damage the image of the country," she adds.

Pouzyreff says French citizens are not afraid in any way but "mostly really bothered and annoyed" by the disruption to their travel plans, as they "cannot move".

Hollie Cole
Live page reporter

We've been seeing some French media reports saying there was a "foiled" attack in May near Marseille when the Olympic Flame was expected to arrive.

On 8 May, the Olympic Flame was due to arrive in the southern French city to kick off its tour of France ahead of the games.

Meanwhile, four bottles were found on the Marseille-Paris high-speed rail line near Aix-en-Provence, which is close to Marseille, according to French media.

What was inside the bottles varies between different media sources.

FranceInfo, external has said police found a fuse and "yellow liquid" accompanied by other items to "accelerate combustion". According to BFMTV, external, the bottles were filled with petrol and a fuse to "light the whole thing".

The news agency AFP says sources have told it that since May, prosecutors in Marseille have been investigating an "incendiary device" found on 8 May on the railway line.

The BBC has not been able to verify these claims and cannot confirm if this incident is linked to the Olympics or today's disruptions.

Away from the train stations, we're now seeing photos of security personnel stationed at various locations across Paris as the city gears up for the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The spectacle will feature thousands of athletes travelling on a procession of boats which will pass some of the city's famous landmarks, including the Louvre Museum, along the river Seine.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Paris

In contrast with the images of massive crowds at railway stations, parts of central Paris have felt eerily quiet this afternoon.

It's perhaps a signal that locals have indeed chosen to abandon the city during what's expected to be a hectic Games period - or at least to lock down for the day.

By the famous Arc de Triomphe, police were more conspicuous than tourists snapping selfies when I passed by.

A few dog-walkers and resolute joggers huff and puff as they navigate huge security cordons that have been put in place in recent days, as authorities try to shut down any disruption of the ceremony itself.

The sometimes labyrinthine feel of Paris is only heightened by swathes of blocked-off roads. A pair of officers chuckle when I try to remember the words for "left turn".

The rail network is slowly resuming, as we reported earlier on.

In the last hour, SNCF has released more details about how each line is impacted as things currently stand.

Atlantique line

One train in three is running towards Brittany and Nouvelle Aquitaine with journeys lengthened by one and a half to two hours.

Nord line

TGV is running with delays of one and a half to two hours with some trains cancelled.

Est line

Normal service has been resumed around Metz Nancy, but beyond towards Strasbourg there are delays of one hour and some cancellations.

Image source, EPA

The arson attack on French rail lines hit parts of the high-speed network - with a number of trains are being diverted to run along traditional, non-high speed tracks.

Transport minister Patrice Vergriete tells French broadcaster BFMTV that TGVs, high-speed rail trains, "will have to use traditional lines today, which means delays, but also cancellations".

"Probably one in two trains to the East, the North and Brittany, one in four TGVs to Bordeaux," he adds.

As the disruption continued on France's railways, elsewhere US rapper Snoop Dogg brought his trademark grin to the streets of Paris as one of the Olympic torchbearers.

As the flame burned brightly atop the torch, the Drop It Like It's Hot singer kept a firm hold and waved to passers-by as he walked past the Stade de France.

You might be wondering why the American celebrity is part of the Olympic torch relay but don't forget he's a qualified American football coach and set up the Snoop Youth League in Los Angeles to keep youngsters off the streets.

And Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympics, of course.

Follow more of our Paris 2024 Olympics sports coverage on our dedicated live page

Image source, Reuters

Sir Keir Starmer has had to change his travel plans to France for the Olympics opening ceremony due to disruption on the Eurostar network.

Downing Street says the prime minister took a flight to Paris instead.

He is due to attend a leaders' reception hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron before going to the ceremony along the River Seine, Downing Street adds.

Image source, Collins Onyeukwu

Collins Onyeukwu from Lagos in Nigeria has paid €1,200 for a taxi to drive him and his family 600km from Bordeaux to Paris after their train was cancelled this morning.

“Originally the staff [at Bordeaux station] didn’t know what had happened and they couldn’t tell us when the trains would be back on," Collins says.

“It was chaotic. We were asking questions and nobody seemed to know what was happening. Then we read from the news there was some sort of crisis on the railways.

“Our train was cancelled, all trains to Paris had been cancelled, and staff didn’t know when the line would be back up and running."

The 49-year-old has been telling the BBC he, his wife and two children aged 12 and 15 have been planning on attending the opening ceremony for three years - and with a six-hour drive they hope to arrive in the French capital with time to spare.

“We rented a very expensive taxi, but my kids want to see the opening ceremony so I had to do it," he adds.

“My girls were excited to come and see it and we’ve been looking forward to it, so it was a big disappointment this morning.”