Paris-Germany trains back on schedule after arson attacks

Paris [France], July 28: Train services between Paris and Germany have resumed their normal schedule following recent arson attacks on the high-speed railway in France, the German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said on Saturday.
Passengers affected by cancellations and disruptions can use their tickets at a later date, the railway said. Seat reservations are still required for trains to France.
There will still be occasional cancellations and delays on the route from Cologne via Brussels to Paris over the weekend.
Seven out of 10 trains can run again on this route northwards, as well as on the route from Paris towards Brittany and the Atlantic coast, which were also affected by the attacks, according to the French railway company SNCF.
However, delays of one to two hours are still expected.
Arsonists placed incendiary devices at various key locations of the French high-speed rail network in the early hours of Friday. Train services were severely disrupted shortly before the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, but the opening ceremony itself was not badly affected.
The arson attacks on France's high-speed rail network hours before the opening of the Olympics may be linked to radical left-wingers and groups critical of the Olympics, the daily Le Parisien reported.
A letter claiming responsibility and containing references to ultra-leftist groups was sent to several French and international media outlets, Le Parisien reported Saturday evening.
The alleged perpetrators claimed responsibility for the arson attacks on Friday and suggested that their motive was to disrupt the Olympic Games.
"You call it a celebration? We see it as a celebration of nationalism, a gigantic staging of the subjugation of the population by the states," the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.
Investigators are now looking into whether this is a genuine claim of responsibility or an attempt to falsely claim credit for the attacks.
Source: Qatar Tribune