France’s rail network was hit by several acts of sabotage Friday, just a few hours before the opening of the Olympic Games. The attacks hit high-speed rail lines at three locations, bringing all operations to a halt for a time estimated as "days." Over 250,000 travelers are currently affected, and that number will rise to over 800,000 by the weekend.

Officials said fires were set at around 4 a.m. local time at three sites around the country’s rail network in a coordinated and precisely targeted attack. The damage is disrupting service on the lines that bring traffic to Paris from the north, southwest and east. The saboteurs cut and then burned signaling cables, requiring laborious repairs that will take days, officials said.

Sabotage hits France's rail system pic.twitter.com/nC8rlhZ1TO

— streiff (@streiffredstate) July 26, 2024

One team of saboteurs targeted a line that serves southeast France but was foiled by rail authorities, officials said.

“What we know is that this operation was prepared, coordinated. That nerve centers were targeted—something that shows a level of knowledge of the network to know how to strike,” said Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

This attack seems to be directly related to a general heightened security level at American military installations that went into effect in June — see US Bases in Europe Put on High Readiness to Deal With Intelligence Warning of Terror Attack – RedState. 

The Israelis were quick out of the gate to blame Iran:

#BREAKING: #Israel's foreign minister reveals: "The sabotage of railway infrastructure across #France ahead of the @Paris2024 Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of #Iran's axis of evil and radical Islam." pic.twitter.com/I4A12sc4HA

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) July 26, 2024

Not very many people are buying this because it doesn't fit the modus operandi of Iranian operations in Europe, and it is just too convenient for Israel. Historically, Iranian attacks in Europe have focused on dissident Iranian groups, and an attack in France doesn't make much sense.

The quiet speculation is that Russian assets carried out the attack. Two days ago, French security forces arrested a Russian national on charges of planning attacks to disrupt the Olympics.

A Russian reality TV “bachelor” turned Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef has been unmasked as an alleged spy plotting to sabotage the Paris Olympic Games.

Kirill Gryaznov, 40, was arrested on Sunday at his apartment in central Paris, where French authorities found documentation linked to an elite special operations unit under the command of Russia’s FSB security service.

The Russian, who has lived in France for 14 years, was charged with sharing “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France”.

Read this thread for the whole story. I guarantee you won't be disappointed:

The Perm-born Griaznov has resided in France for 14 years. He only decided to become a chef suddenly in 2010 after years working as a lawyer for financial services companies. While in Luxembourg, he met Lord Robert Skidelsky, a British peer. He was very excited about this and… pic.twitter.com/rh0okD8m85

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) July 25, 2024

That arrest coincided with Germany's counterintelligence service warning that Russian sabotage efforts were on the rise.

Germany's BfV domestic intelligence service has described an increase in Russian sabotage activities in the European Union and warned of indications that Russian spies have been vetting potential agents at German firms by scouring social media profiles.

"The aim is said to have been to identify people who could be susceptible to Russian attempts to exert influence or initiate sabotage," the agency said in a security notice dated Friday.

The extent of Russian sabotage efforts in Europe is related to the country's ongoing war in Ukraine as well as heightened tensions between Russia and the West, according to the agency.

"The cases observed across Europe since 2023 and increased indications of possible activities in Germany have currently led to an adjusted assessment: There is an increased risk of sabotage activities or corresponding preparatory acts in Germany," the agency said.

As that was happening, Ukraine's security services rolled up an FSB cell planning terror attacks in Poland and the Baltic States:

Today, as France arrests a Russian citizen preparing terror attacks to disrupt the Olympics, the Ukrainian SBU announces the apprehension of 19 people and the dismantling of a terror group acting at the behest of Russia's FSB, aiming to burn shopping malls and other deadly acts… pic.twitter.com/EvEh3YZkib

— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) July 25, 2024

If this is a homegrown terror group trying to make headlines, we'll know that in a day or two. If it is something bigger, this story will disappear from the news because naming Iran or especially Russia as the perpetrator would require action of some type.