News Digest: Paris Olympics, Train Sabotages & a Heatwave

All eyes were on Paris last Friday night as the grand 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony took place in the heart of the capital. Shunning the traditional stadium ceremony in favour of a theatrical parade along the Seine River, it was a spectacular, extravagant, and somewhat kitsch display.

The four-hour event featured a dazzling flotilla of boats, a cabaret-inspired performance by Lady Gaga, and a military-band-backed number by French-Malian pop singer Aya Nakamura. It culminated in the arrival of the Olympic flame at the Eiffel Tower, where Celine Dion sang a moving rendition of Edith Piaf’s Hymn to Love, her first performance in years.

Despite being marred by the pouring rain in Paris, the ceremony went off without a hitch and was undeniably a moment to be remembered for France – one that President Macron said “made France extremely proud”.

France is now embracing the festivities as the Olympic Games continue in the capital and other cities around the country. If you want to watch the games on French TV, you can tune into France 2 or France 3 or log onto the online platform here. There will also be some English-language coverage on France 24, and some cities, including Paris and Marseille, will host fan zones with big-screen broadcasts throughout the Games.

Security has been stepped up in Paris for the Olympic Games, but that didn’t stop a series of sabotage attacks from targeting the capital this weekend. On Friday, as the city prepared for the opening ceremony, a series of arson attacks were carried out against SNCF, France’s high-speed railway network. The attacks included damaging signal boxes along the train lines between Paris and other major cities, resulting in the cancellation of up to 50% of train services. Further sabotage attacks over the weekend targeted fibre-optic internet cables around France, although it’s not yet clear if the attacks are linked.

The acts of vandalism are being attributed to far-left extremists, and an investigation is underway, with several suspects having been identified and one arrested. However, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned against assigning blame prematurely, reminding media outlets that the authorities do not yet have conclusive evidence.

As of yesterday (Monday), SNCF train services are said to be back to normal.

After a rainy start to the weekend, temperatures soared around France yesterday (Mon), with some towns reaching highs of 40°C. Orange heatwave alerts remain active across much of south and central France today and tomorrow, along with 11 departments also on alert for evening thunderstorms. The storms will likely continue spreading around France through Friday.

You can view Météo France’s map, which shows the country’s heatwave and thunderstorm alerts, here.

Join us on Wednesday, August 14th, when we’ll be hosting our first ever FrenchEntrée Members webinar with the FE team, sharing our personal experiences and advice. This time, rather than inviting our expert partners to our panel, we’re going to be answering your questions directly and giving our honest advice about the property-buying journey.

As FrenchEntrée Digital Editor, I’ve had the privilege of following many of you on your journeys of moving to France or buying property, and so often, I see the same questions popping up or the same pitfalls being navigated. I’ll also be joined by FrenchEntrée Property & Relocation Advisor Debbie Nye and French Property News Editor Karen Tait, who have a wealth of both personal and professional experience.

If you have a question for us or a subject matter you’d like to hear us discuss, let us know in advance – you can email me at [email protected].

You don’t have to be a member to attend, so we hope you can all come and join us!

Start Your French Property Journey with Top Tips from the FrenchEntree Team

Wednesday 14th August
4pm UK / 5pm France / 11am USA (EDT)