Paris ‘on alert’ as France fears ANOTHER attack to ruin Olympics

French officials have said the country is “on alert” in the wake of large-scale arson attacks which rocked France’s rail network yesterday.

Fears had been raised in the wake of the coordinated sabotage on the French TGV high-speed network ahead of the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony that Russia or far-left extremists could be to blame – but now, ministers have warned France is on its guard.

Transport minister Patrice Vergriete said the country was “on alert” – while specialist anti-terrorist forces, which usually monitor political and environmental extremists, have launched a probe into the attacks.

Meanwhile, France has deployed 45,000 police officers, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security agents to secure the Games – with snipers posted on Parisian rooftops, and drones in the air.

As for who could be to blame, France’s former ambassador to Moscow Jean de Gliniasty told French news outlet LCI: “We are obviously in a situation of conflict with Russia – and Russia is obviously not going to do anything, and that’s an understatement, to help these Olympic Games be a success.”

Investigators have also suggested the nature of the attacks – a coordinated targeting of French railways – was a “mode of operation… usually used by the ultra left”, a security services insider told AFP.

While a French government source laid the blame at the the door of “the ultra left” and its “radical environmentalist relatives”, according to France Info.

But that didn’t stop foreign officials from taking aim at their own geopolitical rivals; Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz claimed the “sabotage” was “planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam”.

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Katz continued: “As I warned my French counterpart Stephane Sejourne this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants.

“Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now – before it’s too late.”

French caretaker Prime Minister Gabriel Attal confirmed that his country’s intelligence services were on the ground to “find and punish those behind these criminal acts” – and though he counselled against speculation, Attal said the culprits harboured a “certain knowledge” of France’s rail network.

Writing for US foreign policy think tank the Council on Foreign Relations, security expert Jonathan Masters said French officials believe the main threat to the games is an Isis splinter cell, Islamic State Khorasan (Isis-K).

The group had taken responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attacks which rocked Moscow just months ago – while German authorities conducted a series of high-profile raids throughout Euro 2024 on alleged Isis-linked individuals plotting to attack venues and fan zones at the football tournament.

In the wake of the Moscow attacks, France raised its terror alert warning to its highest level, “attack emergency”, where it has remained ever since.

And Olivier Guitta, a geopolitical risk, terrorism and security expert, told the Athletic that “jihadists” are going to attempt to target one of the Olympic Games and European Championship before the latter kicked off in June.

While Masters noted that French intelligence officers were “building contacts and insight into the country’s Central Asian migrant communities, given the concerns over Isis-K”, he also warned that “Paris is also preparing for potential cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns emanating from Russia or its affiliates.”