Watch: Macron meets world leaders in Paris after arson attacks on day of Olympics opening ceremony

Watch as Emmanuel Macron met world leaders in Paris for the Olympics on Friday 26 July, hours after arsonists attacked the French railways on the day of the opening ceremony.

Saboteurs struck France’s high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks that caused chaos on the country’s busiest lines and heightened security concerns ahead of the Games.

The coordinated sabotage took place as France mounted a massive security operation involving tens of thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the capital for the sporting extravaganza, sucking in security resources from across the country.

SNCF, the state-owned railway operator, said vandals had damaged signal boxes along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east.

Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Two security sources said the modus operandi meant initial suspicions fell on leftist militants or environmental activists, but they said there was not yet any evidence.

Prime minister Gabriel Attal declined to speculate when asked in a TV interview about the possibility of such groups being behind the sabotage.