July 26, 2024, Olympics news and results

• The 2024 Olympic Games are officially underway, French President Emmanuel Macron declared during an elaborate opening ceremony in Paris. The show carried on despite a “coordinated sabotage” of France’s high-speed train lines just hours earlier.
• The travel chaos and a cold, driving rain didn’t seem to dampen an epic series of performances. Lady Gaga, heavy metal band Gojira, the Bells of Notre Dame and nods to France’s revolutionary past all featured in the dizzying display.
• Meanwhile, the Parade of Nations took place outside a stadium for the first time, with boats carrying athletes through the center of Paris on the River Seine. The last time Paris hosted the Games was 100 years ago in 1924.
• The iconic Celine Dion, who has been battling a rare neurological condition, closed the ceremony in stunning fashion, drawing goosebumps with a stirring performance of “L’Hymne à l’amour.”

Our live coverage of the Olympics opening ceremony has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or scroll through the posts below.

An opening ceremony unlike any other got the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games officially underway in Paris Friday night. It was a show that will live on in Olympic legend.

Here are five takeaways from the opening ceremony:

Paris shows off: The opportunity to put the City of Light, its culture and people on full display was well-taken Friday. The riverboats floating on the River Seine allowed for incredible Parisian scenes, as they passed storied landmarks on their journey to the end of the Parade of Nations at the Trocadero, with an Olympic-rings-adorned Eiffel Tower serving as the backdrop. The famous landmark was lit up in all its glory, a veritable beacon on what could have been a dreary night.

It was a strong preview of what the rest of the Games will look like as the Games use some of the city’s most iconic landmarks as backgrounds for competition.

Rain tries to steal the show: Paris’ gray skies opened up about 30 minutes into a three-and-a-half-hour show.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the banks of the River Seine clad in ponchos and rain jackets, and a canopy of umbrellas sprouted up at the first hint of raindrops. But after about an hour of rain coming down in earnest, some exposed onlookers ran for the comfort of hospitality tents and other nearby covered areas. Cameras caught the occasional thinning of the crowd along the riverside.

But the Olympic spirit did not wilt in the rain. Athletes looked beyond excited to wave to the crowds, and France truly seemed to embrace the Games.

Celine Dion returns: After a stunning light show on the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic singers of the last several decades made her return to performing after four years. Celine Dion has has been battling  stiff person syndrome , a rare neurological condition.

Her performance of “L’Hymne à l’amour” closed the ceremony in stunning fashion. Clad in magnificent white, Dion’s performance drew goosebumps as she rolled back the years and her incredible voice echoed along the Seine.

A Paris party on a Friday night: A long dance break in the middle of the show encapsulated the vibe that much of the show took on: It was party time in the French capital.

Plenty of techno and Europop music accompanied colorful dancers wearing all sorts of rave outfits – including one singer fully painted blue singing on a bed of flowers.

The opening ceremony included performances from the heavy metal band Gojira, French mezzo-soprano opera singer Axelle Saint-Cirel, and Lady Gaga, who sang a fresh take on the song “Mon truc en plumes,” originally by iconic French artist Zizi Jeanmaire.

A magnificent torch lighting: Carried by scores of French athletes and other famous Olympians of now and yesteryear – including Zinedine Zidane, Rafael Nadal (who carried the torch on a boat down the Seine), Serena Williams (who rode next to Nadal), Carl Lewis and Tony Parker, the torch was lit by judo star Teddy Riner and 400-meter sprinter Marie-José Pérec.

And when the Olympic flame burst into its cauldron, which was attached to a giant balloon, it began to float.

From the first level of the Eiffel Tower, Celine Dion made her comeback, performing for the first time since she announced she’s living with stiff person syndrome.

Wearing a white gown covered in pearls and beads, the emotion of the moment was palpable as Dion wrapped up the 2024 opening ceremony.

Dion performed Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne À L’Amour,” one of the French singer’s most well-known songs. Piaf released the song in 1950 for her partner, Marcel Cerdan, after he was killed in a plane crash the year before.

The long Olympic torch relay has come to an end with the torch’s flame igniting the cauldron.

The flame will burn in its cauldron for the next two weeks as the Paris Games play out. During the closing ceremony, it will be extinguished in Paris and then readied for the next Games. The next Olympics will take place in two years in Milan, Italy.

The torch was passed between legendary athletes Zinedine Zidane, Rafael Nadal (who carried the torch on a boat down the Seine), Serena Williams (who rode next to Nadal), Carl Lewis, Tony Parker and scores of French Olympians.

Finally, the cauldron was lit by French Olympians Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec.

The flame was lit after French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open and the Olympic oath was taken by France’s two flag bearers.

Celine Dion has taken the stage at the Olympic opening ceremony.

It’s her first performance since her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes spasms, muscle rigidity and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli, such as sound and lights.

These spasms can be strong enough to fracture bone, and any fall can lead to severe injury, experts say.

Stiff person syndrome is very rare. About 1 out of every 1 million people develop it and most general neurologists will see only one or two cases in their lifetimes. The condition can develop at any age and has been found to affect twice as many women as men.

The exact cause of stiff person syndrome isn’t clear, but research has shown it may be due to an autoimmune response gone awry in the brain and spinal cord. Pain relievers, anti-anxiety medications and muscle relaxers can be a part of treatment for this disease, and a new drug has recently  been fast-tracked  for development by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Dion has been upbeat about her recovery, recently praising her doctor and saying that her fear of her condition  has been replaced with hope.

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, having won the French Open a record 14 times, carried the torch with a big smile at the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

Ahead of the Olympics, the 38-year-old said he acknowledged how much he likes Paris.

“I’m just excited to have the chance to be back here,” Nadal said.

“It’s another opportunity,” he continued. “This year I was not able to spend a lot of time at Roland Garros, so I am enjoying the fact that I am back for the Olympics. The Olympics are completely different to any other event. I’m just trying to enjoy every single moment.”

The two-time gold medalist is scheduled to face off against Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics in the first round of the men’s singles draw. He is also scheduled to play with compatriot and world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz against Argentines Máximo González and Andrés Molteni in the men’s doubles draw.

President Emmanuel Macron said in French: “I declare the Paris Olympic Games open.”

Let the 2024 Summer Olympics begin!

The Olympic flag has been raised above the Trocadéro in central Paris in an iconic moment.

Carried down the Seine along the parade route with a rider aboard a galloping steel horse, the flag was carried by a real horse bearing a different rider to the stage at the end of the route. Volunteers carrying the flags of all the nations participating in the Games fell in behind the rider, creating a movie-esque procession that carried the flag to its final destination.

The Olympic anthem rang out as the flag was raised in the cool Parisian night.

Austrian show jumper Max Kühner, who is slated to compete in equestrian jumping events at the Paris Olympic Games, is facing accusations of animal cruelty in Germany.

PETA Germany filed a criminal complaint against Kühner, 50, with the public prosecutor’s office in Munich last September, over allegations he’d violated the country’s animal welfare act by engaging in what’s called “active poling” in May 2023.

The technique, which is also referred to as barring, involves using a pole to hit a horse’s legs during a jump, forcing it to lift higher.

Kühner vehemently denied the accusations in a statement from the Austrian Equestrian Sports Federation (OEPS), saying, “We can prove through official veterinary certificates, experts and many witnesses that our horses are and have always been well. Animal welfare is our top priority, and our entire business is geared towards this around the clock.”

Kühner appealed, and it’s unclear if or when the case will go to trial, the court said.

The OEPS is standing behind Kühner and said a motion to dismiss the case has been filed, noting that “the presumption of innocence applies!”

Kühner’s lawyer, in a letter to the OPES, said PETA’s allegations “have no basis whatsoever. None of our client’s horses were harmed at any time.”

The Austrian Olympic Committee referred CNN to the statement from the OEPS, whose president, Elisabeth Max-Theurer, suggested the 2023 accusations were surfaced before the Olympics deliberately, because media attention would be high.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) told CNN it had contacted both the national federations of Germany and Austria for more information. The FEI added that it will wait for the German legal process to run its course before taking any further steps.

Meanwhile, PETA Germany has called for Kühner, whose first event is scheduled for Monday, to be excluded from the Paris Olympics.

CNN’s Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.

Pianist Sofiane Pamart and singer Juliette Armanet just performed a rendition of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine” — while on a vessel in the Seine with a piano that had flames coming out of the top.

After the song concluded, “We all stand and call for peace” flashed on screens in English.

The silhouetted torch bearer has now got onto the Seine and is on a steel horse that is riding down the Seine on a boat.

It is dark outside, and the horse is lit up as it travels down the river.

The silhouetted torch bearer is wearing an Olympic flag.

A lot happened in this opening ceremony, and it certainly kept us all on our toes for the full performance.

If you’re just joining us, here are some of the wildest moments you might have missed.

Silhouette swings on Notre Dame spiral: For TV viewers at home, a silhouette was seen curled up around a spiral on the Notre Dame Cathedral — a nod to “the Hunchback of Notre-Dame”, according to the Olympics website. The book was written by France’s Victor Hugo and the main character, Quasimodo, lived in the bell tower of the cathedral.

A masked acrobat scales the city: For the entirety of the ceremony, a faceless figure ran throughout the streets of Paris holding the torch. It’s not clear exactly who was under the mask, but toward the end of the ceremony, the mysterious person did flips (while still holding the Olympic torch, of course).

A metal band and Marie Antoinette heads : The Olympics opening ceremony depicted scenes from the French Revolution, and then cut to a guillotined Marie Antoinette at the Conciergerie, the site where the last French queen prior to the revolution was imprisoned.

The camera zoomed out to show rock musicians harnessed to balconies and windows across the building, playing heavy metal music, while fire flames went up.

Even the minions made an appearance: An animated video showed the yellow characters hard at work underneath the Seine to keep the Olympic ceremony going.

And throughout it all, it poured: And as all of this unfolded, the dancers battled pouring rain as the Seine – and the streets of Paris – were drenched – including our reporters who had to seek shelter indoors.

For the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics, the opening ceremony is taking place outside of a stadium. Athletes are parading down the Seine River on boats, passing some of Paris’ most iconic landmarks.

Click here to see more scenes from this unique celebration.

As dark skies fell over the Trocadéro, Team USA was on a boat, parading at the opening ceremony, with NBA superstar LeBron James and tennis phenom Coco Gauff leading as the flag bearers.

Gauff, the 20-year-old youngest flag bearer, said it meant “a lot” to her to be representing the USA.

“To be with the GOAT here, Mr. LeBron James,” Gauff told the NBC broadcast. “It means a lot. I’m so excited and I can’t wait to do well in the games.”

James, a two-time gold medalist, called it an “honor” to be voted a flag bearer by his compatriot athletes.

“It goes back to my hometown into my communities — all the communities,” James continued. “For myself and Coco (Gauff) — for us to represent our country, us being Black kids as well, representing our culture, representing where we come from, it gives everybody so much hope where we come from. And that’s all we can ask for. We take it with the utmost responsibility and the utmost honor.”

Sprinter Noah Lyles, who is the current 100-meter world champion and known as the “world’s fastest man,” was seen on the boat, clapping his hands and chanting “USA, USA, USA.” Fellow 100-meter sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was all smiles ahead of her first Games.

Other notable athletes seen on the boat: four-time NBA champion Steph Curry and WNBA stars Brittney Griner and A’ja Wilson.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that sprinter Noah Lyles is the current 100-meter world champion.

Romanian rowing athletes Ionela-Livia Cozmiuc and Marius Cozmiuc are the flag bearers for their country at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony and also the first couple ever to do so.

“It’s a huge honor for us to be the flag bearers. We didn’t expect that, but every Olympic athlete dreams about it, so we’re really glad that we’ll do this together as a family,” Ionela-Livia Cozmiuc told the Olympic Information Service.

About the couple’s athletic record: Marius Cozmiuc won a silver medal in the coxless pairs for Romania at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Ionela-Livia Cozmiuc is a two-time Olympian in double sculls (sixth in 2020, eighth in 2016), two-time lightweight sculls world champion (2017, 2018) and the 2022 World Championships single sculls gold medalist.

A fashion show broke out during the Olympic Games opening ceremony on a covered bridge near the Eiffel Tower.

Models donning an array of looks — including a red, white and blue bedazzled jumpsuit, a pink ruffled gown and more — strutted down the runway.

At the end of the fashion showcase, the catwalk turned into a dance floor, with some of the models breaking into a choreographed number. One of the models even walked down the runway en pointe in ballet shoes.

As the ceremony continued, French mezzo-soprano opera singer Axelle Saint-Cirel stood on top of the Grand Palais and sang La Marseillaise — France’s national anthem.

Saint-Cirel wore a white dress and held a large French flag.

The Grand Palais is a historic site located near Paris’ Champs-Élysées which underwent significant restorative work specifically to host this year’s Olympic Games.

The rain has taken over. Scores of spectators at the Olympic opening ceremony are fleeing for cover as the rain continued to pour in Paris.

Organizers surely counted on better weather — perhaps an iconic moment of the sun setting behind the Eiffel Tower as athletes floated down the Seine. But athletes and spectators alike are being forced to deal with less than ideal conditions.

Smaller boats in the Seine carrying athletes are rocking with the waves on the current, and dancers who are performing on the banks are visibly slipping as they keep their footing.

There’s no sign of it letting up, either: Radar forecasts the rain to get even harder as the night goes on. But as the sun sets, the lights that give Paris its famous nickname are beginning to be seen along the city’s skyline.

It all ensures what organizers hoped for, but maybe not in the way they wanted: An opening ceremony to be remembered.

Aya Nakamura was born in the former French colony of Mali, raised in France and is widely considered the most streamed female Francophone artist in the world.

The 28-year-old,as well as being Malian, is a French citizen, and a multiple-platinum-selling pop star who was brought up in the Parisian suburbs. However, ahead of Paris 2024, Nakamura found herself at the center of France’s culture wars.

Amid widespread rumors the singer would perform at the Games’ Opening Ceremony, singing an Edith Piaf song, some members of France’s far-right questionedwhether she embodied French heritage, values and identity. Piaf is a key figure in France’s musical – and national – identity.

“There’s no way Aya. This is Paris, not the market in Bamako,” said fringe and extreme far-right group Les Natifs (Natives) on X, formerly known as Twitter, in March, referring to Mali’s capital.

Nakamura has defended herself on social media, saying on X: “I’m becoming the number one state subject in debates …but what do I really owe you all? Nothing.”

The singer has received support from Rachida Dati, France’s Minister of Culture, who spoke out in defence of Nakamura, saying “be careful of the pretext of attacking someone out of pure racism.”

The Olympics opening ceremony depicted scenes from the French Revolution, and then cut to a guillotined Marie Antoinette at the Conciergerie, the site where the last French queen prior to the revolution was imprisoned.

The camera zoomed out to show rock musicians harnessed to balconies and windows across the building, playing heavy metal music, while fire flames went up.

Then, red streamers burst out of the windows all at once, appearing like blood flowing into River Seine.

It’s a magnificent sight as France celebrates its tradition of liberté, a fundamental right enshrined in the French Constitution after the revolution.

The bells of Notre Dame have rung for the first time since the iconic cathedral was gutted by fire as a part of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.

Restoration works have been ongoing in the years since the fire destroyed large parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in April 2019, and it is now 90% restored.

For TV viewers, the bells rang as “Do You Hear The People Sing?” from “Les Miserables” played.

In the stands lining Trocadéro — the complex on the opposite side of the River Seine to the Eiffel Tower — there’s a packed crowd watching the Parade of Nations on four huge screens.

Officials and delegates are among those in the stands, and each country gets a warm reception after being announced to the crowd.

Despite the rain, spirits are high as spectators shelter under umbrellas and inside handed-out ponchos.

The athletes will walk across a platform here once they disembark from their boats. French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach are seated in the far stand overlooking the Eiffel Tower-shaped walkway.

Paris is covered in rain clouds but the stars are still out in the City of Light.

So far, notable people spotted at the increasingly wet opening ceremonies include:

• Serena Williams
• Ariana Grande
• Cynthia Erivo
• Michael Phelps

While the Parade of Nations down the River Seine is a truly unique and beautiful scene, the reality here in Paris is one of a cold, driving rain.

The end of the parade route outside the Trocadero is mostly uncovered aside from the VIP area at the very end of the stage. Most of the assembled press and spectators are uncovered and dealing with the occasional burst of showers.

The rain is not really supposed to get going for another couple hours, which is a disconcerting prospect given how many boats full of athletes have yet to go down the Seine.

Covered by large pink and black feathers, Lady Gaga walked down the steps onto the River Seine and started her performance at the opening ceremony.

“Bonsoir et bienvenue à Paris,” she said, which translates to: “Good evening and welcome to Paris.”

Gaga performed a fresh take on the song “Mon truc en plumes” by iconic French artist Zizi Jeanmaire.

In a post to social media after her performance, Gaga said she felt “completely grateful” to perform, saying she wanted to “honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre.”

“Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris,” Gaga said in a post on X.

Gaga said she sourced her pompoms from Le Lido archive, a French cabaret theater, and collaborated with Dior to make the costumes.

In her post, Gaga made many references to the way French culture had influenced her performing career, including noting that she used to dance at a French party on New York’s Lower East Side when she started her career.

“To everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you—it’s a gift I’ll never forget!” Gaga said.

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-time Olympian race walk Antigoni Ntrismpioti led the Greece contingent and nearly 10,500 athletes to start the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

Adhering to Olympic tradition, Greece led the Parade of Nations. Friday’s ceremony is the first opening procession held outside of a stadium — boats are carrying thousands of athletes through the center of Paris on the River Seine.

Ahead of the Games, Antetokounmpo said it was a huge honor to lead out the Greek Olympic coalition for Paris 2024.

“I know that my family is very proud of me and the things I’ve accomplished and being the first Black flag bearer (for Greece) is a huge honor,” he said.

We are getting our first look at how this unique spectacle will unfold as the Olympic makes the final part of its trek down the River Seine.

The torch is making its final stop of its journey from Greece to Paris by floating along down the river before the official lighting of the flame.

Behind the flame was Team Greece, the traditional first time in the Parade of Nations. Jets of water shot up around their boat as light shows played off the cascading water.

It’s the first time the opening ceremony has not been held in a stadium and it’s truly putting much of Paris on display.

After keeping audiences on their toes with teases that the international pop sensation Celine Dion might have been performing at the opening ceremony, the Paris Olympics team confirmed Friday that she will in fact take to the stage — on the Eiffel Tower — at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It will be Dion’s first performance since her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome, and she is expected to sing L’Hymne à L’amour — a tribute to France’s Edith Piaf.

She will join performers Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura in performing at the ceremony.

The opening ceremony coverage has started with a nod to the fact it won’t be happening in a stadium this year, but instead throughout the streets of Paris.

In the ad, a man runs the Olympic Torch into a stadium — only to find there is no one there.

Soon, French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane taps the man on the shoulder and takes the torch from him and through the streets of Paris to where the ceremony is set to begin — the Trocadero stadium.

The Olympic torch will soon arrive in Paris, where it will pass through the Olympic village before ending its journey under perhaps the most recognizable symbol of France: the Eiffel Tower.

As is customary, the torch is lit in Olympia, Greece at the ancient site of the Olympic Games. It then travels through a relay in Greece, passing through Western Peloponnese, Crete and the Acropolis.

The torch then crossed the Mediterranean to arrive in Marseille, a port city in the country’s south.

The torch will pass through some essential French landmarks, including the Lascaux caves, Mont Saint-Michel, the medieval city of Carcassone, the Palace of Versailles and the D-Day Landing Beaches.

If you want to follow the Olympic torch path as it makes it way to central Paris, take a look at all the stages of the route here.

The area near the end of the multi-mile parade route will be remembered as one of the most unique and iconic locations in Olympic opening ceremony history.

The Eiffel Tower, adorned with Olympic rings, stands over the end of the route and will mark the place where athletes disembark their river boats. They will then walk across a stage that is also in the shape of the Paris landmark.

The rain has picked up once again as the start of the ceremony nears, sending attendees scrambling to put on their ponchos and open their umbrellas.

The opening ceremony for the Paris Summer Games will begin at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET) today, as the first boats depart from the Austerlitz bridge.

It will be available to view in the US on NBC and will also be streaming on Peacock.

The City of Lights will be in the spotlight for the next few weeks  as Paris serves as center stage  to incredible performances and achievements of the human body, mind and spirit.

However, hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games has become an extraordinary feat in and of itself — and a financially untenable one at that.

The quadrennial summer and winter events come at a cost. And, especially in recent decades, the spectacle has been blemished by budget overruns, long-term debts, wasteful infrastructure, displacement and gentrification, political strife and environmental harm.

The International Olympic Committee hopes to right the ship, starting with the Paris Games: The nongovernmental sports organization is aiming to take a more frugal and greener approach than in years past.

“This will be the first Olympics, since Sydney, where the total costs are coming in under $10 billion,” said Victor Matheson, a College of the Holy Cross professor of economics who has researched the financial costs of the Olympics.

“That’s because the IOC was running out of cities willing to host this thing,” he added. “It’s become pretty clear to cities that — under the old regime — these were real financial debacles for the cities involved, and wildly expensive with little hope to make money back in the long run.”

Still, some economists and researchers argue that a truly sustainable Olympics will need to look a lot different than the Games we know today.

Read the full story:

Related article The economics of the Olympics | CNN Business

The Olympic opening ceremony had been put in jeopardy by a possible strike action by hundreds of dancers who were due to take part. But on Wednesday, the dancers who threatened to disrupt the ceremony over pay called off strike action after reaching an agreement with Paris 2024, according to a statement from the union representing the dancers.

FSA-CGT union received a “final offer” from Paris 2024 and their employers, proposing to increase payment for broadcasting performance rights for everyone.

On Monday, about 220 dancers stopped a rehearsal along the banks of the Seine to protest inequalities in pay and housing conditions between the dancers.

The union said that the outcome wasn’t a total victory but that it met certain demands, in particular those of the dancers most at risk.

The weather is quickly turning into a worst-case scenario on the banks of the River Seine for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Steady rain started with about an hour and a half to go before the beginning of festivities. Grandstands along the river are not covered, and athletes who are due to compete in the biggest events of their lives are expected to stand exposed on boats going down the river as hundreds of thousands of spectators watch.

The forecast has been gloomy all day, but organizers made no other plans for the ceremony. City officials had remained optimistic for Friday, but if the rest of the day’s forecast holds, it will be one of the wettest starts to an Olympic Games in history.

Anastasia Seleznev, 37, is a Parisian with Category A tickets that she tells CNN “were not cheap.”

She arrived two and a half hours early, only to stand in the rain.

“There’s no signage, not enough volunteers. We have asked several volunteers where our entrance is and we have had conflicting responses, as have other people around us. Everyone is confused, and no one knows where to go,” she told CNN.

But, she added, there was one silver lining: “At least we are making friends in this chaotic catastrophe.”

The flame for the Paris Games was lit in Olympia, Greece — the birthplace of the ancient Olympics — back in April.

The flame, which has been traveling in a relay ever since, will light the cauldron to mark the opening for the Summer Games.

The first part of the relay was a roughly 3,106-mile journey across Greece over 11 days.

The finishing line was the Panathenaic Stadium in the heart of Athens — the historic site of the inaugural modern Olympics in 1896 — where, in a handover ceremony in April, the flame was passed to the Paris Olympic organizers.

It has been passed from hand to hand by about 10,000 torchbearers to reach the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony today, where it will remain lit until the closing ceremony in August.

The first runner of the Olympic torch relay was Greek Olympic gold medalist rower Stefanos Ntouskos.

Over the years, relays have included many adventurous journeys; the flame has traveled around the world, gone into space, traveled underwater, and even scaled Mount Everest.

The flame will also light the Paralympic Games, which takes place from August 28 to September 8, where 1,000 torchbearers will help relay the torch across 50 French towns and cities.

This summer, the French capital is expected to welcome 15 million tourists while it hosts the Olympic Games. In a city seven times smaller than New York, it’s easy to stand out. CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne provides some expert tips to avoid the clichés and navigate Paris like a local.

If there’s one thing Parisians want tourists to know before millions of people descend on their city for the Olympics, it’s a simple, seven-letter word.

“ Bonjour.”

Knowing how to say “hello” in French might seem like a no-brainer, but experts say it’s the essential first step if you want to make a good impression. Take it from a former US expat who lived there.

“If you’re going to France and you don’t start off all your interactions with ‘bonjour,’ you may be in for a little bit of a rude awakening,”  says Elisabeth Guenette, who regularly shares language tips and cultural insights from her time teaching both in France and in the US with her 150,000-plus followers on social media.

And the locals back her up.  Asking for help?  While “excuse me” might be an acceptable way to get someone’s attention in the US, in France, it would be considered overly abrupt and rude.

“Starting with ‘bonjour’ will already drastically change your experience,’ Guenette says. “That is the No. 1 rule.”

And that rule applies whether you’re checking into a hotel, buying a baguette or making a restaurant reservation, says  Countess Marie de Tilly, a French etiquette coach whose clients include brands like Chanel and Cartier.

“If you don’t say ‘bonjour,’” de Tilly explains, restaurant staff “won’t work too hard to book a table for you. It’s the key.”

Read more tips on French etiquette.

The streets of Paris were eerily empty just hours before the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Olympics begin.

The intense security operation was evident throughout the city, as police from around the world are lined up the sidewalks and streets all the way around the Seine River.

It’s an unprecedented level of security in Paris, and the operation aims to keep any disturbances from interrupting the celebration of sport.

Long lines marked entrances to the areas along the river where fans and media could watch the festivities. A light rain began just after 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), and the weather is set to be a potential issue for the first opening ceremony held outside of a stadium.

Still, the city is on full display. It’s wide avenues — today empty of walkers and bikers — stand out. And the iconic Eiffel Tower looming over the Seine will create imagery that will live on in the history of the Olympics.

First lady Jill Biden watched on Wednesday night as President Joe Biden told the American people it was time to  “pass the torch” on his political career. Then she got on a plane, flying nearly 4,000 miles to Paris, where another torch was being passed.

Jill Biden has arrived in Paris at a monumental time for her husband’s presidency. Her role has rapidly shifted from that of an active and prolific surrogate to a leader racing the clock to the inauguration of a new administration.

She is now on a tour of “lasts” in office, starting with her second and final trip to cheer on American athletes at the Olympic Games as first lady.

The trip, which has been in the works long before the president suspended his reelection campaign, will signal how her role may be remembered at home and on the world stage.

It’s a legacy she hinted at in 2021 when  traveling with the president  to the G7 summit. “I feel that I’m a partner on this journey of healing, bringing together, unity,” Biden told reporters.

It’s one of the burning questions that’s on the lips of Olympics watchers worldwide: Who will be taking part in Friday’s opening ceremony?

Iconic singer Celine Dion has been spotted in Paris with rumors circulating that the Canadian could be set for a starring role in what is set to be an event like no other along the Seine Friday.

“You can ask and then you can watch tomorrow, and you’ll get your answer. … I wouldn’t know! It’s going to be a fantastic spectacle,” Paris 2024 CEO Étienne Thobois told CNN’s Amanda Davies Thursday when asked about the rumors.

For the first time, the Games’ opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium.

Instead, around 85 boats will carry nearly 7,000 athletes on a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) floating parade on the river in the heart of Paris.

“The ceremony is going to intertwine the athletes’ parade with the artistic performances … and that’s going to be different — and that’s what we’re aiming for at Paris 2024, to do things that are different,” he added.

French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla will participate in the  opening ceremony, France’s sports minister told CNN, after the runner previously said she would not be allowed to because she wears a  headscarf.

“You are selected for the Olympic Games, organized in your country, but you can’t take part in the opening ceremony because you wear a scarf on your head,” Sylla posted on Instagram on Sunday, per Reuters.

But in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said a solution has been found to allow Sylla to take part in Friday’s ceremony.

Oudéa-Castéra said that it had been explained to Sylla that the rule exists based on the French constitution and that she would not be allowed to wear religious or political signs.

“That’s the law and we need to obey by the law, and she understands perfectly that when you’re an athlete representing your country, you need to be exemplary,” the minister said. “So what we discussed with her is the fact that she can wear something, but not something that can be assimilated to a religious symbol.”

France has pursued a series of controversial  bans and restrictions  on items of customarily Islamic dress in recent years.

Last year, the United Nations human rights office  criticized  the French government for banning  French athletes from wearing the hijab  at the Paris Olympics.

On Thursday, Oudéa-Castéra said that Sylla and LVMH, who are designing France’s opening ceremony outfits, have now found a solution where the sprinter can cover her hair.

“That’s a win-win and we are happy,” Oudéa-Castéra said.

Read the full story.

When the world’s best track and field athletes arrive at the Stade de France for the Paris Olympics later this month, they will compete in  state-of-the-art facilities : a newly renovated purple track, better lighting and bigger screens in the stands.

But if you walk a short distance away from the sparkling Stade de France, which is about six miles from downtown Paris, you’ll find a very different world.

Seine-Saint-Denis, the northeastern department – roughly equivalent to a county in the US – where the stadium is located, is the poorest in mainland France, and for many of its 1.7 million residents, accessing facilities even close to the caliber of the Stade de France is a pipe dream.

Olympic organizers like to pride themselves on the  legacy of the Games  and the “long-term benefits” they say they create for the host city and its people.

French and Olympic officials made sweeping promises about the legacy of the Games – that the residents of Seine-Saint-Denis would be “at the heart of the Olympic project,” according to a press presentation from Paris 2024.

But for some locals wanting to practice track and field, the legacy from the Games appears more mixed.

Club AS Bondy’s track is almost 25 years old and showing signs of its age.

Laurence Baillargeau, who works at the club in Bondy – a town east of the Stade de France, famed for being where Real Madrid soccer superstar  Kylian Mbappé  was raised – told CNN it is riddled with holes. With a lack of resources to renovate it, there’s a risk of injury for athletes, and although no one has been hurt so far, “we’re crossing our fingers” it doesn’t happen, she said.

Baillargeau said that AS Bondy got no funding from the Games. Photos of the track seen by CNN show holes littered with cigarette butts, torn patches and grass pushing through the surface.

“With the track damaged, we can no longer organize competitions,” Baillargeau said.

Read the full story.

Those responsible for the railway sabotage must have had very “precise information” about how the network operated, Axel Persson, a CGT rail union leader, said on Friday.

Speaking to CNN, Persson said that industrial espionage also shouldn’t be ruled out.

He also pointed out that it was thanks to railway workers that the attack on the southeast line was foiled.

Persson said because of the Olympics, there was a plan B, which involved using classic train lines. He said that would slow down traffic — but it would still ensure travelers made it to their destination.

“France is disrupted but not paralyzed,” he said.

Editor’s note: A new episode of the CNN Original Series “How It Really Happened” goes behind the scenes to uncover how investigators identified the bomber who killed two and injured more than 100 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The brownish,  once-polluted Seine River  in Paris isn’t the glitziest, especially in a city filled with iconic landmarks. But for Chase Bank, it’s hoping the waterway will be a showstopper.

At the Summer Olympics, the bank, along with credit card company Visa, is debuting a floating lounge for holders of its pricey Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It’s just a sliver of what companies are doing in their takeover during the two-week sporting spectacular.

Paris 2024 organizers are expected to generate about  $1.3 billion in sponsorship revenue  from a mix of  domestic partners  totaling 60 companies, like Accor and  LVMH, and international partners from Coca-Cola to Omega watches. In a first, Anheuser-Bush InBev is the  beer sponsor  for the Games with a non-alcoholic brew taking the torch.

Despite the excitement from companies, the fans are more muted. Although the city is expected to draw 11.3 million visitors, only 10% of that are expected to come from outside of France, according to Paris’ tourism department.

Even hotels and airlines are underwhelmed by the Games, with fears of crowds, political turmoil and high prices turning off visitors.

Occupancy rates at Paris hotels are around 80%, according to CoStar, a global provider of travel data, which is well below the nearly 90% London 2012 Games had and the whopping 94% occupancy rate for the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro.

The number of flight bookings is expected to increase just 10% for the Games, according to travel firm ForwardKeys.

That’s down sharply from Rio, which saw a 115% increase in bookings. Even the most recent Summer Games, which was held in 2021 in Tokyo and barred spectators, registered a 20% increase.

Read the full story.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for today’s attacks on the French high-speed rail network,but given their scale and precision, it is clear they are more than just random acts of vandalism.

Axel Persson, the leader of the CGT rail union, said that the perpetrators appeared to have had “precise information” and an extensive knowledge of the network.

There are many possible culprits – the opening day of the Olympic Games is a tempting target for anyone seeking to cause chaos and disruption in the limelight. Here are some of the possible theories:

Civil disobedience? An intelligence source told CNN that intelligence services pointed out that “these methods have been used by the far left in the past,” but said that “there is no evidence to tie today’s actions to them.”

France is also no stranger to strikes and political demonstrations and protesters have in the past blocked transport links across France. The parliamentary election held just weeks ago attracted large scale protests and rallies. However, such protests tend to be announced in advance and those behind them are keen to make their cause known.

Persson acknowledged that it could have been a railway worker or someone involved in the construction of the tracks, but added that industrial espionage shouldn’t be excluded.

Climate protests? Environmental activists have in the past blocked traffic to bring attention to the climate crisis. But these groups have mostly focused on fossil-fuel intensive transportation, such as on airports and highways. And they too wanted people to know it was them who did it.

Foreign suspects? France has been among the countries impacted by a recent wave of suspected Russian sabotage attacks against infrastructure and other targets. France itself has experienced cyber attacks against several government agencies which officials said were possibly linked to Russia. Russia has not responded to the allegations.

Earlier this week, French authorities detained a Russian citizen in Paris, accusing him of preparing destabilizing events during the Olympics. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not have any information on the arrest.

CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting.

France’s train lines have been hit by a series of targeted attacks across the country — throwing the plans of thousands of vacationers and Olympic spectators alike into disarray and prompting authorities to launch a full scale investigation into the culprits behind the attacks.

The coordinated sabotage came on the morning of Paris’ Olympic opening ceremony, but organizers say the show will go ahead as planned with a significant police presence. It is currently unclear who was behind the attacks.

If you’re just joining our coverage, here’s what to know:

• What the perpetrators did: Authorities said that across France, attackers used tools like arson to set fire to cables — which are there to ensure the security of the train drivers. In Courtalain, 160 kilometers (about 99 miles) southwest of Paris, photos shared by the local council show charred cables in a shallow trough. Fire-damaged protective paving slabs can be seen thrown to the side.
• No casualties: As of 3:30 local time (9.30 a.m. ET) there were no reported casualties as a result of the sabotage.
• Authorities launch investigation: The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into “the deliberate damage caused” to its train line sites overnight. Intelligence officers across the country are “fully mobilized” to identify the perpetrator, an intelligence source told CNN Friday.
• How the attack is disrupting travel: An estimated 800,000 travelers could be affected over the weekend following the attack. The high-speed train service that connects the UK with France, the Eurostar, will cancel one in four trains from Friday to Sunday. Meanwhile, SNCF, France’s national rail company, said traffic had partially resumed into Friday afternoon but disruptions would continue over the weekend. Efforts to restore the Atlantic railway line in the west and southwest of France will take at least 24 hours, according to SNCF’s regional director.
• What impact will this have on the Olympics? The opening ceremony is set to go ahead on Friday evening as planned, despite the attacks. But, regional SNCF director Franck Dubourdieu told journalists that “of all four Olympic trains, only two were able to run, one was canceled and a third is being prepared.”

For the very first time, the Olympic opening ceremony is going to happen through the city of Paris — on the Seine River, instead of in a stadium.

Some 104,000 people in stands lining the River Seine will watch the event, with 220,000 more on raised roadways along a six-kilometer (nearly four miles) stretch of the river, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.

Torchbearers will travel the streets of Paris in the lead up to July 26, before the torch finishes its journey underneath perhaps the most recognizable symbol of France: the Eiffel Tower.

Olympic opening ceremony ticket holders are told rain could be in the cards later Friday and are advised to prep accordingly.

“Opening ceremony: rainy weather expected this evening. Please wear appropriate clothing. Only retractable umbrellas allowed,” a Paris 2024 text message sent to ticket holders said.

“The conditions aren’t good for the opening ceremony,” Alexis Decalonne, head of MeteoFrance Sport, said to CNN on Friday morning.

The Paris region has already experienced light rain this morning and forecasters are expecting more rain after a lull in the afternoon. Rainfall looks more likely at the end of the day when the opening ceremony is set to take place.

“The forecast scenario of the last few days, suggesting a risk of precipitation, is confirmed for the end of the day. The rains will resume in the late afternoon. They will be continuous, sometimes sustained, until the middle of the night,”  MeteoFrace said.

Forecast models suggest around 15 mm, more than half an inch, of rain could fall during the opening ceremony. The wind will remain light and temperatures will be around 20°C (68°F) in the evening.

The rains will continue for much of the day Saturday, with dryer, warmer weather heading into next week.

Efforts to restore the Atlantic railway line in the west and southwest of France will take at least 24 hours, according to the regional director of state company SNCF, after a series of attacks threw train scheduling into disarray across the country.

“I don’t know when we’ll be back to normal,” regional SNCF director Franck Dubourdieu told journalists on Friday. “We’re talking about cables that you can’t just find anywhere, so we’re currently getting them from different parts of France to be able to fix the network as quickly as possible.”

Most trains are now running on the eastern network with delays of about an hour, but only one in three trains are running on the Atlantic side, Dubourdieu said, adding that “about 50 trains have been cancelled for now.”

An estimated 800,000 travelers could be affected over the weekend after the  “massive attack” targeting France’s high-speed train lines  in the early hours of Friday morning.

As a reminder: Three lines of the TGV network were impacted — the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern lines. The Atlantic line services the west and southwest of France from Paris; the Northern line takes travelers from the French capital to Lille and the Eastern line journeys from Paris to Strasbourg.

French state railway company SNCF also said that an attempt to attack another line — the South Eastern route that serves cities including Lyon and Marseille — had been “foiled.”

A huge security operation is in place in Paris but the saboteurs carried out a coordinated attack on key points in more rural areas outside the French capital overnight.

Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the railways attacks were “prepared and organised” in a way that show a “knowledge of the network.”

“What we do know, what we can see, is that this operation was prepared and coordinated. Key points were targeted. This shows a kind of knowledge of the network in order to know where to strike,” he said on Friday.

Simone Biles has submitted an original element to be named for her on the uneven bars.

The International Gymnastics Federation, known as FIG,  posted on its website Friday  that Biles submitted an original skill on the apparatus to the FIG Women’s Technical Committee on Thursday.

The skill Biles has submitted is a clear hip circle with 1 1/2 turns (540 degrees) to handstand, which FIG says is a variation of an element named for Wilhelm Weiler of Canada. Biles has done the Weiler for much of her career. The move would be named after Biles if she’s able to perform it without a major fault at some phase of the competition in Paris.

The skill has been reviewed by the Technical Committee, which awarded it a difficulty value of E on a scale from A to J, meaning it is worth 0.5 in difficulty.

Biles is one of four female gymnasts who may attempt new elements during the Olympics, according to FIG.

There already are five elements in the women’s code of points named after Biles, including two vaults, two tumbling skills on floor exercise and a balance beam dismount. Only former Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim has more skills named after her, with seven, according to FIG.

Uneven bars historically has been Biles’ weakest event.

A sequence of attacks on France’s high-speed trains was “prepared and organized,” according to the country’s outgoing prime minister, in a way that demonstrated a “knowledge of the network.”

“This operation was prepared and coordinated. Key points were targeted. This shows a kind of knowledge of the network in order to know where to strike,” Gabriel Attal said on Friday.

The Paris Public Prosecutor has launched an investigation, and intelligence services and internal security forces have been mobilized, said Attal. He added that he was not aware of any arrests so far, and urged people to “be cautious.”

“All hands are on deck,” to restore the train network as quickly as possible, the outgoing leader said.

Attal also expressed his “anger and sadness” with the French people, who he says “are longing for just one thing: the ability to be with their families… and, for some of them, to take part in the Olympic Games.

“What I can see, however, is the impact, the massive impact on our fellow citizens, who, once again, are asking for nothing more than to be able to get out and about with family and friends, to take a breather after working all year.”

Photos are coming in showing French police officers and state rail company SNCF employees at the sites where vandals disrupted high-speed train lines overnight.

At one of the locations, Courtalain — which is around 160 kilometers (about 99 miles) southwest of Paris on the impacted Atlantic line — the damage is plain to see.

The local town hall’s Facebook page posted an image showing charred cables in a shallow trough. Fire-damaged protective paving slabs can be seen thrown to the side.

Earlier, the SNCF said the “targeted criminal sabotage operation” took place around 4 a.m. on Friday morning (10 p.m. ET Thursday) and that several routes had faced arson attacks or cable theft.

SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou said that cables — which are there to ensure the security of the train drivers — were set on fire and taken apart. He added that they would need to be put back together one by one, reconnected and tested before trains could resume services.

Farandou added that authorities are trying to fix the damage as quickly as possible.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, warning of lengthy jail sentences and significant fines.

IOC President Thomas Bach said on Friday that he has “full confidence” in the French authorities following Friday’s French railway infrastructure attack.

Speaking to reporters in Saint-Denis, near Paris, Bach said he had no concerns about the safety of the Games.

“All the measures are being taken and the French authorities are assisted by 180 other intelligence services around the world. Not only by information, some of them are even deploying their human resources, so we have good reason to have full confidence.”

The high-speed train service that connects the UK with France will cancel one in four trains from Friday to Sunday, after a sequence of attacks on French railway lines disrupted travel ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.

Eurostar implemented the measures due to the “coordinated acts of malice” on French train lines, according to a statement on Friday.

The company said it is encouraging customers to postpone their travel plans.

Earlier today, CNN witnessed calm scenes at London’s St. Pancras Station — where the Eurostar departs from — despite earlier scheduling changes.

A couple stuck in a train station south of Paris were forced to watch their friends’ wedding ceremony by phone on Friday, after a series of attacks on France’s high-speed trains disrupted travel plans across the country.

Alexandre and Camille were hoping to reach the western city of Poitiers for a civil ceremony, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. However, they were left stranded at Montparnasse station, one of the worst impacted transit hubs.

Leur train pour Poitiers a été annulé.
Ils ne pourront pas assister au mariage de leurs amis 👰
Alors ils suivent la cérémonie via Whatsapp sur le parvis de la gare Montparnasse. #SNCF pic.twitter.com/4YeuhFx0ac

Instead, a friend live-streamed the ceremony via video call, after the couple forwent costly plans to rent a car. “It’s either full or super expensive,” said Alexandre.

“We managed to get a car from people who are on site and who were supposed to go back to Paris this evening,” he said, adding they will be able to get to Poitiers for a secular ceremony over the weekend.

“There is no choice,” he told BFMTV.

The joint French-Swiss airport Basel-Mulhouse has reopened after it was evacuated and closed earlier Friday, the airport said in a statement.

The airport, also known as EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, is on the border of France and Switzerland and calls itself “the only binational airport in the world.”

“The airport has reopened, and flight operations are gradually restarting. Passengers are requested to contact their airline for information about their flight. We wish you a safe and happy journey,” the EuroAirport statement read.

The statement did not specify what led to the earlier evacuation. It does not appear that the closure was related to the rail network disruptions elsewhere in France.

For the very first time, the Olympic opening ceremony is going to happen throughout the city of Paris — on the Seine River, instead of in a stadium.

More than 100,000 people will line the River Seine to watch the event, with more than 200,000 on raised roadways along the river. But with the ambitious idea to hold the games across various locations, comes new security risks.

France plans to deploy around 35,000 police each day during the Games, peaking at 45,000 for the opening ceremony, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.

In addition, 10,000 soldiers will be deployed in the Paris region – an effort supported by 1,800 police officers from around the world, they added.

France will also deploy 20,000 private security personnel, Reuters reported.

Darmanin said that an “anti-terrorist security perimeter” will be put in place in the days leading up to the event.” There will also be a “strictly controlled” zone along the banks of the river which will be closed off before the opening ceremony, and anyone entering into it will be checked.

Scenes emerged of hundreds of flustered passengers crammed on platforms across train stations in France, after a spate of attacks disrupted travel lines just hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Some travelers had been desperate to return home after passing through the French capital, while others say they were preparing to watch the Olympics for their summer holidays.

Francoise, an 80-year-old women from the coastal city of La Rochelle, told CNN she was trying to get home after medical treatment in Paris.

“We didn’t need a day like this,” she said, adding that she would wait another five hours in the hope of boarding a train.

Just outside Paris, passengers were left befuddled at Gare de Montparnasse, one of the worst impacted stations servicing the west and southwest of France.

Virginia and Philip Asante told CNN they were supporting the Canadian soccer team at the Olympic Games, along with their three kids aged 6 to 11.

“I didn’t know lines were disrupted,” said Virginia. “We might lose our ticket for the match tomorrow too. … Should we take a bus?”

With their train likely to be canceled, Philip said the family had been told to rent a car. “We don’t want our holiday to be ruined.”

When asked about the travel chaos, 6-year-old Hunter told CNN: “Yes, I’m upset.”

Another passenger, 24-year-old Marguerite, was left “disconcerted” by the confusion, saying she was at the station for a changeover before heading home to Brittany, in northwestern France.

“I don’t know where to go,” she told CNN. I”’m trying to call friends to see where I can sleep tonight. Apparently, I have friends here that can let me sleep for one night.”

“It’s not their fault (SNCF), but we knew that it would be complicated to move with the opening ceremony today.”

American rapper Snoop Dogg is one of the final torchbearers of the Olympic flame ahead of the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris on Friday.

Snoop Dogg, whose full name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, carried the torch through the neighborhood of Saint-Denis,  according  to the town’s mayor Mathieu Hanotin. Hanotin said that Saint-Denis is the final stop of the Olympic flame’s journey before it reaches the Eiffel Tower.

Snoop Dogg  tweeted  a photo on Tuesday of himself in the Olympic host city with the caption: “U ready? Paris 2024 Olympics ya digggg.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday that it had opened an investigation into “the deliberate damage caused to SNCF sites during the night of July 25 to 26, 2024,” in coordination with the organized crime unit (JUNALCO).

It detailed the four separate charges in a statement, relating to the damage of state property and taking part in organised crime.

Some of the crimes listed are punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros.

The joint French-Swiss airport Basel-Mulhouse was evacuated and closed on Friday morning “for safety reasons,” the airport said in a  statement.

It is unclear if the airport closure is related to the train network disruptions elsewhere in France.

“The terminal had to be evacuated and is currently closed. Flight operations have been temporarily suspended. Passengers are requested to contact their airline for information about their flight,” the statement said.

We regret this inconvenience; it is for the safety of passengers and employees.”

The airport, also known as EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, is on the border of France and Switzerland and calls itself “the only binational airport in the world.”

French state rail company SNCF said that the region of Brittany in western France and the north of the country are the areas most impacted by the French rail disruption.

Christophe Fanichet, the CEO of SNCF, also said that there would be no trains from Gare Montparnasse in central Paris until at least 1 p.m. local.

To recap: Three lines of the TGV network have been impacted: the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern lines. The Atlantic line services the west and southwest of France from Paris; the Northern line takes travelers from the French capital to Lille and the Eastern line journeys from Paris to Strasbourg.

Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Friday that the “acts of sabotage” on France’s railway network were carried out “in a planned and coordinated manner.”

In a post on X, he said the consequences are “massive and serious.”

Attal thanked the firefighters and the SNCF agents, ”who will carry out the necessary work to restore the network,” adding that he shares the anger of all the French people.

“Our intelligence services and law enforcement are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts,” he also said.

A French intelligence source told CNN that the country’s intelligence services are “fully mobilized” to find those responsible for the coordinated attacks on the country’s railway network.

It is unclear who was behind the attack – no one has claimed responsibility so far.

The source said that intelligence services have pointed out that “these methods have been used by the far-left in the past,” but that “there is no evidence to tie today’s actions to them.”

The Olympics opening ceremony will go ahead as planned, Paris 2024 told CNN on Friday.

“The organising committee are going ahead with the opening ceremony as planned and have no concerns from their side in light of the overnight events on the train network ,” a Paris 2024 spokesperson told CNN.

Some context: Just hours before the Olympic torch relay concludes and the opening ceremony begins, France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by “malicious” acts, including arson, in what has been described as “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel.

France’s train networks were targeted by “malicious” acts on Friday, just hours before the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris.

Here is what we know:

• Authorities described the acts, which included arson, as “ coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel.
• During the attacks, cables — which are there to ensure the security of the train drivers — were set on fire and taken apart.
• The attacks appear to have targeted the country’s high-speed train network, known as the TGV.
• No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
• French state railways company SNCF said about 250,000 travelers would be impacted today, and about 800,000 over the weekend.
• French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said the Games organizers would “ensure the proper transport of all delegations to the competition sites.”
• Oudéa-Castera condemned the attacks in the “strongest possible terms,” saying that “playing against the Games is playing against France, against your camp, against your country,” she said, according to BFMTV.
• Police in Paris are stepping up the already tight security following the attacks, the Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said.

A spate of attacks on high-speed trains in France has been linked to “targeted criminal sabotage operation,” according to the state railway company SNCF.

The “prepared and coordinated” operation took place at around 4 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET), “with the aim of having a major, widespread impact” on the entire network, SNCF said.

Several routes around the Atlantic coast were disrupted because of “arson attacks or cable theft,” the company said, adding that some in the east of the country have started running again.

Earlier we heard from Eurostar that the overnight attacks on French train lines has also disrupted its own high speed service between the United Kingdom and France.

All trains have been moved onto older “classic” lines which has extended passenger journeys by 90 minutes. One train - the 15:31 - has been canceled.

Despite this, the mood at London’s St. Pancras Station - where the Eurostar departs from - remains calm and jovial.

There are the usual queues forming as travelers wait to go through the security checkpoints.

Once inside, passengers are getting sandwiches and snacks as they await their boarding announcement. Some trains are running a few minutes behind.

French state railway company SNCF said that 250,000 people who were expected to travel today could be impacted.

The number of travelers caught up in the chaos during the weekend could be 800,000.

Earlier, the SNCF said travel on the affected lines was “very disrupted,” with the railway network needing to divert and cancel a large number of trains.

“We ask all travelers to postpone their trip and not to go to the station,” it said.

France’s state railways company SNCF has described the attacks on the three railway lines — the Atlantic, North and East — as “an attack on France.”

Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of SNCF said that during the attacks, cables — which are there to ensure the security of the train drivers — were set on fire and taken apart.

“Therefore we have to pull them back together one by one, reconnect all these cables and test them. It’s a question of security. We have to make sure we test them so when trains are back up and running, they are safe,” Farandou told journalists.

Farandou called the incident a “premeditated attack,” adding that the intent “was to harm.”

“These fires were deliberate,” he added.

Farandou added that authorities are trying to fix the damage as quickly as they can, adding that there is an ongoing investigation and that the police, as well as the Interior Ministry, are heavily involved.

“We don’t know who is behind it,” he said.

The SNCF chief added that the attack that was foiled at the High Speed Rail South East was because maintenance workers called the police quickly.

“There is maintenance operation at night and so we have asked the workers to be very vigilant,” he said.

France’s state-owned railway company SNCF has warned that around 800,000 travellers could be affected over the weekend after the “massive attack” targeting its high-speed train lines overnight.

To recap: Three lines of the TGV network have been impacted. Those are the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern lines. It also said that an attempt to attack another line had been “foiled.”

The Atlantic line services the west and southwest of France from Paris; the Northern line takes travelers from the French capital to Lille and the Eastern line journeys from Paris to Strasbourg.

As a result of the disruptions, SNCF has had to divert or cancel a large number of trains. Some of the trains have been moved onto “classic” lines — essentially older routes — which means passengers who are able to get on a service will face longer journeys amid the chaos.

French transport minister Patrice Vergriete said all signs pointed to Friday’s major train disruption being caused by “arson attacks.”

“All elements show us that it’s deliberate”, the outgoing minister said.

“The coincidental timing, the vans found after the people had fled, the arson materials found on location.”

He added that an investigation was under way.

Eurostar, the high-speed train service connecting the United Kingdom with France, has been forced to cancel and divert trains due to the “coordinated acts of malice” on French train lines.

Eurostar said that the incidents have impacted travel between Paris and Lille, forcing the train network to divert journeys and extend travel times.

“Due to coordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July. This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half. Several trains have been cancelled,” Eurostar said in a statement to CNN.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Thursday that weather could pose a problem to Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony if it rained, but that she remained optimistic.

“I think the rain will be a problem if we have rain tomorrow because many moments in this show need to be very safe for the dancer and without rain and without water,” she told CNN’s Melissa Bell in an international exclusive.

The rain did, in fact, come overnight and into the morning in Paris, but no changes have been made to the opening ceremony plans just yet.

Hidalgo would not confirm rumors that superstars Celine Dion and Lady Gaga may perform at the ceremony.

“It’s a surprise,” she said, hoping that the Olympic opening ceremony will boost the public’s enthusiasm about the Games.

Hidalgo swam on the Seine last week in an effort to demonstrate its cleanliness for the Olympics amid concerns about E. coli bacteria. The triathlon and open-water swimming Olympic events are due to take place in the Seine.

She called swimming in the River Seine “a dream,” because “this river is magical like Paris.”

“Cleaning the Seine is cleaning our life … And cleaning the Seine is for our generation and next generation.”

The Paris 2024 Olympic committee has canceled Friday morning’s news conference about the Games’ opening ceremony that is scheduled for later today.

The organizers didn’t give a reason for the cancellation — but it is clear that the day has not gone according to the plan.

Just hours before the Olympic torch relay concludes and the opening ceremony begins, France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by “malicious” acts, including arson, in what has been described as “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel.

On top of concerns that the weather could affect the ambitious plans for the ceremony.

The spectacle is expected to be held on the River Seine, with 104,000 fans in stands and a further 220,000 watching on raised roadways along a six-kilometer (nearly four-mile) stretch of the river.

CNN has reached out to Paris 2024 for comment.

The journeys of about 800,000 travelers will be affected by what French authorities have called “coordinated malicious acts” on French train lines, France’s state railways company SNCF said.

SNCF said earlier that damage done to train lines overnight caused “a large number of trains” to be diverted or canceled. The company did not specify what kind of damage the system had sustained.

The head of Île-de-France region Valerie Pecresse said that all elements “point towards this being a deliberate act.”

Just hours before the Olympic torch relay concludes and the opening ceremony begins, France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by several “malicious” acts, including arson, in what has been described as “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel ahead of the Games.

France’s state railways company SNCF said the disruption has affected Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines, with damage caused to several of its facilities. SNCF said one of the acts was “foiled.”

SNCF said travel traffic on these lines is “very disrupted,” with the railway network needing to divert and cancel a large number of trains. They outlined that team members are onsite to oversee repairs, however, said the situation is expected to last the entire weekend.

“We ask all travelers to postpone their trip and not to go to the station,” the statement said.

The Rémi Train Centre Val de Loire has also said their train lines will be disrupted until at least Monday, with a fire near the tracks in Courtalain in northern France causing disruptions for travel to Paris.

The opening ceremony, which is taking place in the heart of Paris along the Seine River this year, brings added levels of security — with over 100 heads of state and government, as well as thousands of spectators, expected to attend.

About 45,000 police officers are set to be deployed in the city, along with 18,000 military members. Nearby metro stations will be closed, as will many of the bridges. No planes will be allowed to fly over Paris, unless they are part of the ceremony.

“There cannot be any party if there’s no security, and we want the celebration to be fantastic,” Paris 2024 CEO Étienne Thobois said.

“Yes, there is a little price to pay but having this opening ceremony in the middle of the city, then the Games in the middle of the city with an unprecedented setup of venues … but I think everyone is very understanding of that, and we’re looking forward to celebrating and partying,” he added.

The Games also come amid the backdrop of geopolitical tensions around the world with wars ongoing in Gaza and Ukraine, among others.

“The Games are not immune to what is happening on the geopolitical scene,” said Thobois.

“The fact that all the countries are getting together in a fair fight around sport is a fantastic sign that we can live together, listen and have a peaceful world, and that’s what the Olympics is all about and what Paris 2024 is all about,” he added.

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