Man arrested over suspected French railway vandalism

PARIS: An “ultra-left militant” was arrested in north-west France on Sunday after being found behaving suspiciously near a railway site, according to police sources quoted by French media.

Officers who searched the man’s car found keys to technical premises, pliers, a set of universal keys and literature “linked to the ultra-left”.

The 28-year-old suspect is currently being questioned by police in the city of Rouen, French media said.

There is no indication that the man has links with the people responsible for Friday’s suspected co-ordinated arson attack on railway lines ahead of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games.

The acts of sabotage paralysed high-speed TGV lines running to and from Paris and heavily disrupted travel in France.

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On Monday morning, France’s Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin said that a “number of profiles of people who could have committed these very deliberate, very targeted acts of sabotage” had been identified.

He added that the methods employed were “traditional” of the ultra-left and said there was “likely a political claim” behind the sabotage.

“The question is whether they were manipulated or is it for their own account,” Mr Darmanin said, adding that investigators were making good progress and would find those responsible.