Fiber optic internet cables across France have been cut in an apparent act of sabotage, resulting in outages across the country.

The attacks on French internet infrastructure were committed Sunday night, according to Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Marina Ferrari, who on X said the cable sabotage only had "localized consequences" for internet, landlines, and mobile networks.

Major French telecom firms Bouygues, SFR, and Free were all affected by the attacks, which apparently could have only been carried out by an "axe or grinder," according to an SFR spokesperson in a statement to Le Monde. SFR didn't specify what parts of its cable network were hit, merely saying it was vandalized in "several departments."

Free, however, stated on X that its cables were affected in six different departments, two of which are in the north and the other four in the south along the Mediterranean coast. As of the time of writing, the company says it has made progress on restoring service in four departments and is working on fixing cables in the other two.

Internet outage statistics from Zone ADSL&Fibre indicate that problems started cropping up in the early hours of the morning - around 02:00 local time - and have primarily affected Free's network, with SFR and Bouygues users reporting fewer problems. The outages are seemingly still not fully resolved as reports remain elevated compared to yesterday around the same time.

It might not be a coincidence that on Friday, France's national rail network SNCF experienced arson attacks that specifically targeted cables transmitting safety information for train operators. French police have already arrested a suspect who cops described as an "ultraleft" activist, according to CBS News. It's unclear if the railway and internet attacks are related, and if they were committed to disrupt the Paris Olympics.

The Register asked Bouygues and Free to comment. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/29/french_fiber_cables_cut/