Traffic is severely disrupted this Friday 26 July on several TGV lines. SNCF has announced that several ‘concurrent acts of malevolence’ affected the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines during the night. However, one act was thwarted on the South-East line

Patrice Vergriete, the resigning Minister for Transport, denounced a ‘scandalous criminal act’ at a press briefing on Friday 26 July, referring to this ‘massive attack’ on the TGV network.

According to Patrice Vergriete, ‘all the elements (…) clearly show that it was deliberate’. He went on to say that ‘the coincidence of times – everything happened at the same time – the vans found with people fleeing, particularly on the south-eastern section, and the incendiary agents found on site’ clearly indicate the criminal intent behind these acts.

The resigning Transport Minister also announced the opening of an investigation. ‘Everything now points to arson’, he added.

This ‘massive attack’ on the TGV network will cause disruption until the end of the weekend, affecting almost 800,000 passengers, according to SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou.

Following the acts of violence that occurred on the night of Thursday 25 to Friday 26 July, TGV traffic on the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern routes has been severely disrupted, with Montparnasse station particularly affected. Only the South-East axis is not affected. According to the SNCF press release, many trains will be cancelled from today until Sunday inclusive.