By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press
The disposal of what Paris police called an "excessively dangerous" unexploded World War II bomb caused hours of transportation chaos on rail and road networks in the French capital. Disposal experts managed to unscrew and then destroy the fuse of the half-ton British-made bomb. But their lengthy operation to make it safe forced the suspension of high-speed train links with London and Brussels. And it forced the cancellation of hundreds of train services and also shut down major roads. Commuters' workdays and passengers' travel plans were upended. The French transport minister expressed relief when it was all over on Friday.
By THOMAS ADAMSON and JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press
Arsonists have attacked France's high-speed rail network, paralyzing train travel to Paris for some 800,000 people across Europe, including athletes heading to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The saboteurs targeted remote locations far from the capital with apparently coordinated attacks that sought to cut off rail routes into the city from all directions. The fires were predominantly set in pipes containing critical signaling cables for the system known as the TGV. Blazes were reported before dawn near the tracks on three separate lines, causing widespread disruptions. Another arson attempt, in the south in Vergigny, was thwarted by rail agents who scared off several suspects.
