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The fibre cables have reportedly been accessed via street cabinets belonging to SFR and Bouygues Telecom
Today, French authorities have revealed that fibre networks in several part of the country have been ‘sabotaged’, causing fixed broadband disruptions for thousands of people.
According to a report by Le Parisien, fibre cables in southern France were damaged in cabinets belonging to SFR and Bouygues Telecom, while damage was also reported in the Meuse region near Luxembourg and the Oise area near Paris.
The attacks have led to service disruption in six regions of France, most of which took place overnight. Paris, where the Olympics are taking place, was notably unaffected.
Both SFR and Bouygues have not commented on the attacks and the subsequent disruption.
According to a (translated) tweet by Marina Ferrari, France’s Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, the attacks had “localised consequences on access to fibre, fixed telephony and mobile telephony”.
“I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts,” read the tweet. “Thank you to the teams mobilised this morning to carry out repairs and restore damaged sites to service.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, though police fear the sabotage could be linked to the arson attacks on high-speed rail infrastructure that took place on Friday, ahead of the Olympics’ opening ceremony.
An ‘ultra-left activist’ was reportedly arrested on Friday in relation to the rail attacks.
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