A “far-left militant” was arrested in northwestern France on Sunday after he was spotted acting suspiciously near a railway construction site, French media reported, citing police sources.
Police searched the man’s car and found keys to technical equipment, pliers, a set of operating keys and literature “related to the extreme left”.
French media said the 28-year-old suspect is currently being interrogated by the police in Rouen.
There is no indication the man has any contact with the person responsible Suspected coordinated arson attack on Friday The railway line before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The acts of vandalism paralyzed high-speed TGV lines to and from Paris and severely disrupted travel in France.
On Monday morning, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said “a number of people who may have carried out these very deliberate, very targeted acts of destruction” had been identified.
He added that the methods used were “traditional” ones of the far left and said there “could be a political agenda” behind the destruction.
“The question is whether they were manipulated or for their own benefit,” Darmanin said, adding that investigators were making good progress and would find those responsible.
While Darmanin stopped short of saying the vandals had accomplices within France’s national rail operator SNCF, he noted that the location of the arson attack was “very specific”
“This is obviously highly targeted, not random, and it affects three major production lines,” he added.
Mr Darmanin also said that around 50 people were arrested in the run-up to the Olympics, who along with others, thought to number around 150, “wanted to carry out sabotage or radical protests in Paris during the first Games”.
In addition to damage to train lines, French media reported that fiber optic cables were found to have been cut at six locations across France overnight between Sunday and Monday, leading to some isolated power outages.
It is unclear whether there is any link between the damage to telecommunications facilities and disruption to the rail network last week, which affected an estimated 250,000 passengers on Friday and hundreds of thousands more over the weekend.
No group has claimed responsibility for either incident. A security source suggested in French media last week that the arson attacks had all the hallmarks of the far left.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said on Monday that train services were back to normal after working around the clock over the weekend to repair damage.
He added that “considerable means” were being deployed, including drones and police helicopters, to bolster security on France’s thousands of kilometers of rail network.
Mr Vigret also said the vandalism could cost millions of euros.
