French authorities announced they have a rail sabotage suspect in custody. The “ultra-left militant” snagged on Sunday in north-west France is certainly a convenient scapegoat. He was picked up after acting a little “suspiciously near a railway site.” His political affiliation matches what the media were predicting but they didn’t think the left had the ability. The Olympics doesn’t have a Synchronized Sabotage event but if it did, this one would score an 8.3 or so.
Olympic style rail attack
Sort of like synchronized swimming, what happened on the opening day of the Olympics was an act of synchronized rail sabotage. Everything went off beautifully in one arson routine after another, timed perfectly in widely scattered locations.
The saboteurs botched their dismount and one of the main high-speed transit lines kept rolling. One of five. Instantly, everyone pointed left. It appears they were right.
Cops quickly and efficiently searched the suspect’s ride, finding some rather interesting things. Items like “keys to technical premises, pliers, and a set of universal keys.” Probably “bump keys.”
A man was arrested at a railway site in Normandy, believed to be in connection to the arson attacks that targeted France's high-speed rail network over the weekend. https://t.co/BUCnWYjdLn
— ABC News (@abcnews) July 29, 2024
All of that is handy for modern rail transit disruption. He also had a whole lot of literature “linked to the ultra-left.” Unless the cops planted it.
All the police are saying is that the “28-year-old suspect is currently being questioned.” They’re holding him in the city of Rouen.
One of the reasons some are questioning whether he’s just a scapegoat is that “there is no indication that the man has links with the people responsible for Friday’s suspected coordinated arson attack.” He could simply be a left-wing nut talked into attempting some copycat rail sabotage, just to be caught in the act. That makes good press coverage for corrupt security officials.

Heavily disrupted travel
The French high-speed TGV lines have been a favorite target for radical tree huggers since they were built. This highly coordinated attack zeroed in on exactly the right places to cripple each rail line targeted successfully.
With the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games about to begin, public transit ground to a halt, nationwide.
While France’s Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin said right away that a “number of profiles of people who could have committed these very deliberate, very targeted acts of sabotage” had been identified, he was quick to add an asterisk.
French Interior Minister: We have identified the profiles of several people who could be behind the sabotage of the railway infrastructure this weekend. Signs of sabotage have characteristics associated with the far left. One such activist was detained on Friday pic.twitter.com/SrLxG6X4Lw
— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) July 29, 2024
The methods employed to attack the entire rail transit network at once were “traditional” of the ultra-left. He was expecting “a political claim” of responsibility any moment. It never came. The pros used the same techniques already proven to work, making it look like the left did it.
“The question is whether they were manipulated or is it for their own account,” Darmanin speculated. Everyone is wondering the same thing about this suspect. It still looks like an inside job.
“Although he stopped short of saying the saboteurs had accomplices within France’s national rail operator SNCF, Mr Darmanin noted the locations of the arson attacks were extremely specific.“