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The French high-speed rail network’s “nerve centers” came under coordinated arson attacks Friday, on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, causing widespread disruptions and cancelations.
According to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, the sabotage operation was prepared and coordinated to hit critical points, affecting high-speed rail lines connecting Paris to major cities in the east, north, and west.
Five signal boxes and electricity installations were vandalized or attempted to be vandalized between 01:00 and 05:30 local time. The French rail company SNCF reported that fiber optic cables in at least three locations were set on fire.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers were stranded, with delays and cancellations expected to last throughout the weekend.
French authorities have launched an investigation and vowed to “find and punish” those responsible. SNCF has mobilized teams to repair the damaged infrastructure, with repairs expected to take several days.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach expressed confidence in French authorities, stating, “We have full confidence in the French authorities.”
The attack occurred just hours before the Olympic opening ceremony, but the ceremony proceeded as scheduled.
The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games took place on April 16, 2024, in Olympia, Greece. The flame was lit using a parabolic mirror to focus the sun’s rays, a tradition dating back to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The torch relay, which spanned over two months, saw the flame travel through various French cities and territories before arriving in Paris in July. The final torch-bearer, Charles Coste, a 100-year-old French Olympic champion, passed the flame to French judo great Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec, who lit a cauldron shaped like a hot air balloon during the opening ceremony Friday.
The final torch-bearer, Charles Coste, was reportedly unaware of his selection until right before the ceremony.
The opening ceremony featured a parade of nations along the Seine River, with thousands of athletes sailing past lively performers on bridges, banks, and rooftops. It culminated in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky.
The chaotic ceremony, marred by some upside-down flags, was shorter than usual, lasting around 4 hours. It was the first to take place on a river, swapping a traditional stadium setting for a waterway.
The ceremony began with a video interlude that featured World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane running through Paris. Musical interlude was performed in French by American singer Lady Gaga. The ceremony also featured Celine Dion, rapper Snoop Dogg and local French artists.
Many viewers on social media however, had harsh criticisms. The glitzy part of the official 2024 summer Olympics ceremony was dominated by woke themes and LGBTQ propaganda -- featuring drag queens, a 'decapitated' head and a 'smurf' with his bulge out.
The ceremony featured a drag queen-led parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” a depiction of Jesus Christ's last supper with his disciples the night he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
Critics and several Christian leaders have expressed outrage and disappointment over the blasphemous themes and disrespect towards Christianity.
French politician Marion Marechal tweeted, “To all the Christians around the world watching the #Paris2024 ceremony who felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France speaking but a left-wing minority willing to provoke. #notinmyname.”
Right-leaning politicians in France were also outraged by what they saw as a "woke" spectacle.
The blasphemous parody also caused uproar among Italy's right. Deputy Prime Minister and anti-migrant League party leader Matteo Salvini slammed the ceremony in a post on X. "Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians around the world was a really bad start, dear French people," he wrote. "Sordid."
An MEP belonging to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy, Nicola Procaccini, in sarcastic Facebook post wrote: "I really enjoyed the Gay Pride ceremony. Do you know when the Olympic Games will take place?"
Homosexual Jewish artistic director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, had pledged last week that the ceremony would celebrate "diversity" and "otherness." Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he said that his intention had not "been to be subversive or to mock, or to shock."
"Above all I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion, not at all to divide," he added. "In France, you have the right to love as you like, who you like. In France, you can believe (in religion) or not believe. In France, we have lots of rights."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who sees himself as a defender of "traditional" values in Europe, railed Saturday against the "weakness and disintegration of the Western world" as illustrated by the opening ceremony.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the show a "mockery of a sacred story for Christians" and a "giant gay parade." The country, which banned "gay propaganda" in 2013, has been excluded from the Paris Olympics over its invasion of Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron jumped to Jolly's defence, saying the ceremony had "made our compatriots extremely proud." "This is France!" he wrote earlier on X.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also praised Jolly's work. "Every edition (of the Olympics) brings a stone to the edifice," Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games executive director at the IOC, told reporters. "This has brought a mountain, it's not a small stone."
Popular American evangelical Christian leader and president of Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham wrote on X: "Why would the International Olympic Committee allow the opening ceremonies to feature men in drag parodying the Last Supper? @elonmusk, @SpeakerJohnson, and many others quickly pointed out how disrespectful this was to Christians everywhere. Even more than being disrespectful to Christians, I would be concerned about being disrespectful to God. His Word tells us, 'Be not deceived, God is not mocked' (Galatians 6:7). Whether you’re Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, or Protestant, it is offensive."
Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota called the parody a “gross mockery” and emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society” that identifies Christianity as its enemy.
Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, urged Catholics to “fast and pray, renew our devotion to the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart, and the Virgin Mary” in reparation for the blasphemy.
Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, described his reaction as “My vocabulary is not varied enough to find a word for the feeling in the pit of my stomach” and emphasized that people of Christian faith deserve respect.
United States Senator Marco Rubio, a Catholic, quoted Jude 1:18, “In the last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.”
Tesla chief Elon Musk who has since unfollowed Olympics organization's X account, called the parody “extremely disrespectful to Christians.” In other posts, he argued that "Christianity has become toothless;" and that "Unless there is more bravery to stand up for what is fair and right, Christianity will perish."
Entrepreneur and popular social media personality Andrew Tate wrote on X, "I don't watch the Olympics. But a bunch of GAY SATANIC garbage just appeared on my desk. I'm not surprised that France has gone full gay-pedo. The West is finished. There are men with beards, wearing dresses and lingerie, balls hanging out, twerking next to children. Sometimes I genuinely wonder. WHO THE FUCK THINKS THIS IS NORMAL??? Drag Queens are the new national symbol of France? Gays and crime The Australian and Argentine teams got all their shit stolen out of their vans by migrants. ROBBED. This is the West now. Gay and Dangerous. French used to be about luxury, innovation, military prowess. England's and Europe's #1 mortal enemy at one point. Now they're just the gay butt buddies. Do you all remember the Opening of the Beijing Olympics? Thousands of completely coordinated Chinese men and women beating drums. A display of absolute competence. 1,000s of people in LOCK STEP. The sign of a competent and organized group of people. France? Gays in dresses twerking with children. The Western World is toast. It's actually over. And it's over because no one else seems to think anything is wrong. And those who do, won't do shit about it. Too scared to even speak."
Tate also reacted to the ceremony in a video posted on X, writing, "I AM BOYCOTTING THE OLYMPICS. I will watch NOTHING. The opening ceremony, planned and orchestrated by a gay jew, was disgusting. I will be placing signs outside of the French embassy in Romania tomorrow at 7pm. Respect Jesus."
Several brands have also pulled their adverts from the event. "We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics," C Spire wrote on X.
The IOC and partner broadcaster NBC have since issued DMCA copyright takedown requests asking X to remove many of the blasphemous images and videos posted by outraged users.