Sabotage at SNCF: profiles identified, manipulation, claims, message of support… Darmanin takes stock of the investigation

Gérald Darmanin takes stock of the investigation after the sabotage at the SNCF just before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Capture X @telematin

The Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin was the guest of the Quatre vérités on the Télématin show this Monday, July 29. Asked about the progress of the investigation after the sabotage at the SNCF, he was cautious about the suspicions surrounding the affair.

The investigation is progressing but many questions remain unanswered. After the vast sabotage operation that hit the SNCF on the night of Thursday 25 to Friday 26 July, Gérald Darmanin gave an update on the investigation on Monday 29 July.

Identified profiles

The Minister of the Interior stated that the services had "identified a certain number of profiles who could have committed" the acts of sabotage committed during the night from Thursday to Friday against SNCF TGV lines.

Invited on France 2, the resigned Minister of the Interior insisted on the fact that these “sabotages were deliberate, very precise, extremely well targeted”.

Manipulations ?

“This is the traditional mode of action of the ultra-left", he continued. When asked if “the identified profiles" were close to the ultra-left, he replied: “We have to be careful […], the question is whether they were manipulated or is it for their own benefit". “These are people who can get close to this movement", he said again.

“Claim of opportunity" ?

Regarding the message of support for these sabotages received by several media outlets on Saturday, Gérald Darmanin considered that it was “something that resembles a claim”. “We have to be careful because this could be a claim of expediency”.

Asked if there had been a “failure” intelligence service, the minister replied that the country had organized “the largest event in the world”, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, without incident.

Operation “well prepared"

During the night of Thursday to Friday, fiber optic cables running near the tracks and ensuring the transmission of safety information for drivers (red lights, points, etc.) were cut and set on fire at various locations on the TGV line network.

A "well-prepared" operation, organized by a "same structure", according to a source close to the investigation.

The sabotage occurred just a few hours before the opening ceremony Olympic Games, while many travelers had planned, some to reach the capital, others to go on vacation, causing a huge chaos in the stations on Friday morning.