On 26 July 2024, the day of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, a series of arson attacks damaged the LGV Atlantique, Nord, and Est lines of the French high-speed railway system.

[10] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer originally planned to travel by Eurostar for the Olympics opening ceremony; however, he flew instead due to delays and cancellations caused by the arson attacks.

[5] On 25 July, the Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz had warned his French counterpart about a plot backed by Iranian terrorist proxies to derail the events.

[16] French prime minister Gabriel Attal pledged to "find and punish" those responsible for "paralysing" the connectivity by sabotage attacks ahead of the evening's opening ceremony.

[17] The French transport minister, Patrice Vergriete, warned of "very serious consequences" for rail traffic throughout the weekend, with connections towards northern, eastern, and northwestern France being halved.