Internet down in multiple French cities amid vandalism fears

Internet down in multiple French cities amid vandalism fears
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Ben Chapman

By Ben Chapman


Published: 27/04/2022

- 19:08

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 11:38

The French Telecoms Federation said attacks of vandalism had impacted telecoms networks in several regions

The Paris prosecutor's office said it has opened a probe into the causes of a majorinternetoutage which affectedFrance's telecommunications network on Wednesday following reports of coordinated acts of vandalism.

The French Telecoms Federation said attacks of vandalism had impacted telecoms networks in several regions, including the Ile-de-Franceregion around Paris, easternFranceand the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and Bourgogne-France-Comte regions.


The investigation will be co-handled byFrance’s internal intelligence services and the national judicial police, the prosecutor's office said, citing a potential threat to the fundamental interests of the nation.

French internet and mobile service users were experiencing issues overnight on Wednesday.
French internet and mobile service users were experiencing issues overnight on Wednesday.
Rui Vieira

Earlier, Minister for Digital Affairs Cedric O said on Twitter thatinternetcables had been cut in the Ile-de-Franceregion, which was affecting the landline and mobile network and that the ministry was working with operators to restore service.

A spokesperson for Altice's French telecoms operator SFR said the group had been the target of acts of vandalism that affected the company's broadband fibre optic network after 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Wednesday.

The attacks concerned long-distance cables linking Paris with the cities of Strasbourg and Lyon, the spokesperson said.

These long distance cables link large hubs to the broadband network and theinternet, potentially affecting direct customers as well as other operators that rent SFR's network, such as Free, which also pointed to vandalism in a tweet.

SFR declined to provide further details on the location of the damaged underground cables. It also declined to say when full service would resume or elaborate on the number of cities and customers potentially affected.

Another long distance fibre network connection, linking Paris to the city of Lille, was also damaged, an industry source said.

French rival OrangeORAN.PA, which operates a substantial part of the fibre network in the country, said it was not affected by the attacks.

French media reported majorinternetoutages in big cities like Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Reims and Grenoble, quoting officials saying that vandalism or sabotage was suspected.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that underground cables had been damaged inFrance's Seine-et-Marne and Essone departments, adding that these cables were linking the hubs of Paris and Lyon.

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