On Saturday, French police temporarily closed off the area around the media centre where the Paris Olympics coverage team is operating, as explosion risks emerged following a sabotage on Friday.
Journalists and citizens evacuated, police later re-opened the area to pedestrian traffic and access to and from the media centre resumed as normal, but the cause of the danger still remained unclear, New Straits Times reported.
French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete told LCI television channel that security and surveillance measures on the railway network have greatly strengthened following Friday’s arson attacks. More than 1,000 staff, 250 security personnel, helicopters and drones are on high alert to monitor the railway network.
Vergriete said train disruptions expected on Sunday, but Saturday is to present normal train services. On Friday, 100,000 people were unable to board trains and another 150,000 faced delays but eventually reached their destinations.
Moreover, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Saturday that no one has claimed responsibility yet, but foreign complicity is not out of the question. Moodus operandi implies the initial suspicions have fallen on left-wing or environmental activists, but no evidence has yet surfaced, according to sources in the ministry, Euractiv said.
“Who is responsible? Either it’s from within, or it’s been ordered from abroad, it’s too early to say. We have uncovered a certain number of elements which lead us to believe that we will know fairly quickly who is responsible,” Darmanin underlined.
Vergriete reported the authorities have not yet received any warnings from intelligence services about arson attacks, while €5 million had gone into strengthening the security of the railway network in the Ile-de-France region, including Paris, as part of the Games. Traffic on France’s high-speed rail network is due to resume by Monday.
