The event was postponed and moved one day before the intended start date, due to concerns over a possible terrorist attack aimed at the competitors.
[1] The rally was cancelled on 4 January 2008, due to safety concerns in Mauritania, following the killing of four French tourists there on Christmas Eve, December 2007.
France-based Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), in charge of the 6,000 km (3,730 mi) rally, said in a statement they had been advised by the French government to cancel the race.
[1] Before the start of the race, rally director Étienne Lavigne had approved the Mauritanian legs only after two stages planned for Mali were scrapped.
[1][2][3] On 4 February 2008, the ASO organised the Central Europe Rally, with a Hungary to Romania route, to occupy the gap left by the cancellation of the event, as part of the new Dakar Series.