Gambra
Anarchic Harmonics
Saboteurs target strike-hit French railways
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]James Orr and agencies
Wednesday November 21, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
[/FONT] Saboteurs have damaged large sections of France's high-speed railway network, further delaying services already hit by strike action, senior officials said today.The SNCF state railway executive, Guillaume Pepy, told the French radio station RTL that arsonists had destroyed cabling, preventing many trains from running.
Further "coordinated" attacks on the country's network had also led to serious delays to commuter services this morning.
In one instance, saboteurs started a large fire that damaged 18 miles of signalling on the western side of the network.
The worlds gone strike mad!French trains 'hit by sabotage'
Rail workers have been striking for eight days
France's high-speed TGV rail network has been damaged by a "concerted campaign of sabotage", the SNCF state-owned rail operator has said. It said acts of sabotage overnight, including fires, caused huge delays to TGV services already hit by a long transport union strike over reforms.
The SNCF blamed militants for the attacks, saying they wanted to harm negotiations to end the strike.
The talks between rail unions and the government opened on Wednesday.
In a statement, the SNCF said there had been "several acts" occurring "at the same time" on lines in the north, east and south-west of the country.