French train network hit by 'malicious' arson attacks hours before Olympics ceremony

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cxe24vg59lzt

French rail company SNCF says its high-speed network has been targeted by "malicious acts" aimed at paralysing the system.

It comes hours before the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games.

Several high-speed TGV lines have been hit to the west, north and east of Paris and queues have formed at Gare Montparnasse station in the city.

A number of trains have been cancelled and SNCF has warned that the situation could last "at least all weekend while repairs are conducted".

Bit suspicious.

[Mr K]

Seems the Russians have gone to the Olympics after all.

[papa smurf]

plenty of overtime for fibre splicers,i might volunteer

Originally Posted by Mr K

Seems the Russians have gone to the Olympics after all.

Seems likely. Any Islamist/Leftist/Eco-fascist group would have been loudly claiming responsibility by now. Causing mayhem while leaving the cause a troubling mystery is the Russian M.O. (as is flatly denying it should they be accused, even in the face of damning evidence).

Obviously it’s a blow for the French who want to be seen to be putting on a flawless Games, but the upside is that it might, just possibly, help make Western European governments take the final leap towards taking the Russian threat seriously. There is still too much tiptoeing around the fringes and hoping it’ll all somehow go away, but the reality is that the more the Russian army is degraded in Ukraine the more the Russian government will focus on asymmetric warfare as a means of trying to maintain its influence.

[papa smurf]

The opening ceremony was hideous,everyone soaked ,people leaving early without seeing anything, lady gaga's terible singing,a headless horror show, well done France.

Originally Posted by papa smurf

The opening ceremony was hideous,everyone soaked ,people leaving early without seeing anything, lady gaga's terible singing,a headless horror show, well done France.

Disagree! I enjoyed it immensely.

[Hom3r]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

The opening ceremony was hideous,everyone soaked ,people leaving early without seeing anything, lady gaga's terible singing,a headless horror show, well done France.

I chose to watch NCIS on 5USA

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

I chose to watch NCIS on 5USA

It was like the french version of it'll alright on the night [exept it wasn't alright] wouldn't be shocked to find out many of the athletes have got pnumonia after that soaking, it did have entertainment value but not in a good way.

Originally Posted by Hom3r

I chose to watch NCIS on 5USA

I chose to watch nothing. I have no real interest in the Olympics.

[peanut]

I thought it dragged on and on way too long and was way too disjointed.

The rain didn't help obviously. Luckily I watched it on delay so could ffwd it as I thought it'll never end. The metal horse was neat, but was way too long to do anything.

The dancers near the end were good, the laser show was excellent. Celine Dion (not a big fan) gave it everything you could tell what it meant to her. The torch lighting, again took way too long, and the balloon is bit meh. London's 2012 did that a lot better.

In the end they tried but it didn't work, stick to a stadium.

[jfman]

Beijing 2008 was the peak.

Yeah, I am not sure the boat thing worked but the ending was great. The horse and woman (Sequana) going up the Seine to dramatic music intercut with the history of the games was good. They finally had a sense of occasion, atmosphere and the feeling it was building to something.

The light show was excellent and the tension of the light show and building up to the reveal of where the Olympic cauldron was made it all quite exciting! I did like the dancing on top of the Debilly Bridge as the boats came through.

You just wonder if it would have been better without the rain. I think that scuppered them a bit.

The boats also just messed with the timing of it all. Having to keep cutting back really killed the pacing. Usually, you have the well-paced ceremony and then you can go away while the athletes' parade happens. This got rid of the boring bit in the middle of the ceremony but at the expense of the exciting bit.

And yeah that will be one of the most famous and iconic endings of an opening ceremony ever.

[papa smurf]

Swimming in the river Seine cancelled due to high levels of E coli bacteria,aka sewage in the water .

Originally Posted by Damien

Yeah, I am not sure the boat thing worked but the ending was great. The horse and woman (Sequana) going up the Seine to dramatic music intercut with the history of the games was good. They finally had a sense of occasion, atmosphere and the feeling it was building to something.

The light show was excellent and the tension of the light show and building up to the reveal of where the Olympic cauldron was made it all quite exciting! I did like the dancing on top of the Debilly Bridge as the boats came through.

You just wonder if it would have been better without the rain. I think that scuppered them a bit.

The boats also just messed with the timing of it all. Having to keep cutting back really killed the pacing. Usually, you have the well-paced ceremony and then you can go away while the athletes' parade happens. This got rid of the boring bit in the middle of the ceremony but at the expense of the exciting bit.

And yeah that will be one of the most famous and iconic endings of an opening ceremony ever.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

Swimming in the river Seine cancelled due to high levels of E coli bacteria,aka sewage in the water .

I did see a few comments likening the appearance of the boat on The Seine with the singer performing "Imagine" on it to a giant turd! So perhaps this was a strong hint to the authorities to clean the river up!

And I agree with other observers that the words "Imagine there's no countries..." don't work particularly well when you've just seen two hours of countries parading up the river in boats!