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Several French regions experienced telecommunications disruption after malicious damage on the night of July 28. The cutting of fibre optic cables led to outages across six regions, and affected multiple major French operators, including SFR and Free.
SFR reported around 10,000 customers were impacted by the damage, but a company spokesperson confirmed the impact was minimal due to the network being designed to reroute traffic.
The cable cutting is only set to have ‘localized consequences’ according to Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Marina Ferrari, who has condemned the attack as ‘cowardly and irresponsible’.
Reassured
Whilst SFR has not confirmed which parts of its cable network were targeted, it confirmed the damage would have required an ‘axe or angle grinder’ to inflict, seemingly confirming the deliberate nature of the destruction. The six regions affected were Meuse, Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hérault, Oise, and Drôme, with Paris remaining unaffected.
It is unclear if the aim of the attacks was to disrupt the Paris Olympic Games, as this sabotage comes days after an attack on the French high-speed rail network, which impacted hundreds of thousands of travellers across the country.
Whilst no one has claimed responsibility for either attack, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez has confirmed ultraleft organisations are suspected, noting, “There is a modus operandi in that first attack that makes you think of the far-left,”.
At the time of writing, no official link has been made between the two attacks. Due to the extensive knowledge needed to carry out the rail attacks, Axel Persson, leader of the CGT rail union, has urged authorities not to rule out ‘industrial espionage’.
Full telecommunication operations in the affected areas are yet to be fully restored, with teams called to action in the early hours of the morning to repair the damaged cables. They have reportedly made progress in restoring service in four out of six of the affected regions – and work has begun on the final two.
France remains on high alert as the Paris Olympic Games present unprecedented security concerns, with over 15 million tourists expected throughout the event, but French President Emmanuel Macron reassured attendees, noting”We are ready and we will be ready throughout the Games”.
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