PARIS: The Paris Olympics officially kick off today with an extravagant opening ceremony through the heart of Paris but an attack by vandals targeting France’s high-speed TGV rail network exposed security risks at a time of geopolitical friction.
The coordinated actions by arsonists brought major disruption to some of France’s busiest rail lines ahead of this evening’s ceremony, including lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east.
No one has claimed responsibility.
The attack took place despite a massive security operation for the Games involving some 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security staff.
The opening parade will feature a procession of barges which will take nearly 7,000 athletes along the River Seine past Paris’s most famous landmarks, while more than 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks.
Since the last Games – the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 – wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a highly tense international backdrop.
France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there is no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.
As part of a vast security operation, authorities have wielded powers granted by an anti-terrorism law, placing 155 people under surveillance measures that strictly limit their movement, official data and a Reuters review of cases showed.
Meanwhile, Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics, officials say.
Scores of world leaders will be in Paris for the opening ceremony, which will be protected by snipers on rooftops.
The Seine’s riverbed has been swept for bombs, and Paris’ airspace will be closed.
For the Games more generally, radar-surveillance planes and Reaper drones will monitor sensitive sites from above, and Mirage 2000 fighter jets will be on standby to intercept aircraft straying into restricted airspace.