Passengers wait for their train departures at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. - According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)

PARIS (UPDATED) - France's high-speed rail network was hit by arson attacks that disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers on Friday, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of "sabotage".

"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyze the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes would be canceled.

"SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight," the national train operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines.

"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "heavily disrupted" and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are conducted.

SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou said 800,000 passengers were affected.

Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete called the attacks an "outrageous criminal act" that would have "very serious consequences" for rail traffic throughout the weekend.

He said connections towards northern, eastern and northwestern France would be halved.

SNCF said trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them".

The southeastern line was not affected as "a malicious act was foiled".

SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.

Olympics under heavy security

The attacks were launched as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event.

The parade on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometer (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats.

It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks.

At Paris's Montparnasse train station, passengers were waiting for more information about their trips, with display boards showing delays of more than two hours.

"Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29," read one of the signs in the departure hall.

The station's loudspeakers told passengers that conditions to exchange and refund tickets would be more flexible.

Graphic designer Katherine Abby, 30, clung to hope that her trip would only be delayed and not canceled. She booked her tickets for Biarritz, a popular southwest beach resort, weeks ago.

"It's my only vacation of the year, said Abby, who was traveling with her husband.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a year, I would be pretty demoralized to have to cancel this trip, especially when you see what Paris looks like with the Olympic Games," she said.

European-Filipinos are worried for their security but they are still going about their day-to-day business.

Filipino tourists meanwhile are move vigilant, especially with their personal belongings and passports. -With a report from Rose Eclarinal, ABS-CBN News