France's rail network has been hit by a major attack and acts of sabotage, including arson attacks, the company revealed Friday morning.
French railway company SNCF said it had been hit by a "massive, large-scale attack aimed at paralysing" its high-speed train network, which was experiencing "significant disruption", the group told AFP hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
"We will divert some trains to the conventional line, but we will have to cancel a large number" of routes, the company said in a statement.
"This situation could last at least through the weekend until we can carry out repairs," it said.
"Arson attacks have begun to damage our facilities," the national train operator said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "severely disrupted."
The statement added that trains were being diverted to different routes "but we will have to cancel a large number of them."
The southeastern line was not affected, as "a malicious act has been thwarted."
SNCF urged passengers to postpone their journeys and stay away from train stations.
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