Authorities in France have arrested a far-left extremist after a that disrupted high-speed trains over the weekend.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that a far-left activist was arrested at a “railway site” in Oissel on Sunday.
The suspect allegedly had access keys to SNCF technical premises, tools and far-left literature, the AFP news agency reported, citing police sources.
Separately, Darmanin said the saboteurs’ methods bore the hallmarks of far-left extremists.
“We have identified the profiles of several people,” Darmanin told France 2 TV.
“This is the traditional type of action of the ultra left,” he added.
However, Darmanin warned against jumping to conclusions because the perpetrators could have been manipulated.
“We must be cautious,” he said.
High-speed trains up and running
High-speed trains were operating back to normal on Monday after the attack disrupted transport over the weekend, coinciding with the opening of the .
In response, Darmanin said that 50 drones, 250 rail security agents and 1,000 maintenance workers were deployed to tighten security along the 28,000-kilometer (17,400-mile) high-speed train network.
Darmanin also confirmed that authorities arrested 45 members of the Extinction Rebellion direct action environmental group.
More to follow…
zc/rc (Reuters, AFP)
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