France has been hit by a second wave of attacks on infrastructure surrounding the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after telecommunications lines were brought down by apparently coordinated strikes.
The French government said fibre lines as well as fixed and mobile phone lines were hit by acts of vandalism overnight on Sunday, affecting services in several regions.
It came just 72 hours after arson attacks on train networks around France on Friday, which disrupted travel leading up to the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.
Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, said she “condemned in ths strongest possible terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts”.
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, which is hosting Olympic football and sailing competitions.
Telecom providers Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected. French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit.
It was not clear on Monday whether the attacks caused any disruption to sporting events at the Games, which broadly went ahead as planned.
They represent, however, another attempt to destabilise the country as it hosts the Olympics for the first time in 100 years.
The arson attacks on train lines took out high-speed TGV services into Paris on Friday and affected hundreds of thousands of travellers.
They also affected Eurostar services, forcing British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to fly to Paris for the opening ceremony. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was able to take the train as planned.
French prosecutors continue to investigate the attacks, which have been described by authorities as attempts to “sabotage” the capital’s staging of the Games.
Telecoms companies said they were investigating the deliberate damage caused to their networks.
Security experts warned in the lead-up to the Olympics that Paris 2024 was likely to be the subject of attempted disruption.
Groups identified as potential risks included extremists on both sides of the political divide and Russia or agents linked to the state, which remains banned from the Olympics.
A Russian man was arrested in France last week on the eve of the Games on suspicion of attempting to disrupt the multi-sport extravaganza.
Russian agents were accused by US officials of being behind cyber-attacks on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The UK Foreign Office also alleged that Russian hackers targeted the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were delayed a year by the Covid-19 pandemic.