Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP / Getty Images
Multiple telecommunications lines at five sites across France were damaged in acts of vandalism overnight, French officials said on Monday (July 29).
French telecoms regulator Arcep said that around 11,000 people were impacted by the vandalism, noting that telecommunication companies were able to reroute traffic to minimize the effect of the damage. Officials with the Paris Olympics said that the damage to the telecommunication lines did not affect the operations of the Games.
Romain Bonenfant, general director of the French Telecoms Federation, told Reuters investigators believe the vandalism could be an act of "sabotage."
"It was an operation that was prepared. If it wasn't people who work for (us), it was people who had information," Bonenfant said.
The vandalism came one week after arsonists targeted the French railway system as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris began. Officials have not determined if there is a link between the arson attack and the sabotaging of the telecommunication lines.
So far, no arrests have been made in the investigation into the arson attacks, though investigators believe a left-wing militant group is responsible.