French fiber optic cables cut in latest Olympics sabotage

Driving the news: "A new major sabotage of long distance cables took place last night in France around 2:15 a.m.," Nicolas Guillaume, CEO of internet service provider Netalis, wrote on X Monday.

• A number of major French telecommunications providers — including SFR, Bouygues and Free — were impacted by the attack.
• Six French regions — Bouches-du-Rhône, Aude, Oise, Hérault, Meuse and Drôme — were affected by the outages, Le Monde reported.
• Orange, the telecom provider for the Paris Games, was not affected in the attack, per Le Monde.

What they're saying: "I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts," Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Marina Ferrari wrote on X Monday.

• Ferrari confirmed the attack damaged fiber optic lines, as well as telephone and mobile phone lines, in several departments.

The big picture: The fiber cables incident comes days after coordinated arson attacks disrupted France's high-speed rail networks ahead of Friday's opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

• Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Monday that police had identified "profiles" of people who may have been behind the attack and suggested that far-left activists could have been responsible, though he did not provide specific evidence to back up his claim.

Go deeper: "Coordinated" arson attacks disrupt French rail on Olympics opening day