has urged the public to be and has urged the public to be vigilant. translation: it and has urged the public to be vigilant. translation: it targeted and coordinated _ vigilant. translation: it targeted and coordinated act _ vigilant. translation: it targeted and coordinated act of— vigilant. translation: it targeted and coordinated act of sabotage i vigilant. translation: it targeted | and coordinated act of sabotage has struck the high—speed rail system. —— a targeted. welcome to bbc news now from paris. the countdown is on before the palace fix opening ceremony gets under way, palace fix opening ceremony gets underway, but palace fix opening ceremony gets under way, but wasjust palace fix opening ceremony gets under way, but was just a matter of hours to go, there have been a series of fires that have hit french high—speed rail lines. the french transport minister has condemned what has been described as coordinated malicious attacks. the rail company sncf says some 800,000 customers will be affected, with destruction i was expected all

weekend. eurostar is now encouraging passengers travelling from london st pancras to postpone travelling if possible with delays and cancellations to services between the uk and france. this is the scene live at a paris train station, and we are getting pictures now of what is happening there. we know that many train lines that come into the french capital have been impacted, in particular one from bordeaux, one from lille, and one from the west as well. that is the latest. in the last few hours, the mayor of a commune in north—central france has shed some photographs with the bbc, let's show them to you now. they are images that appear to show some child wires which the mayor says were taken at a railway line 88 miles from paris —— charred wires. the french prime minister has spoken

about the railway incident. translation: ht about the railway incident. translation:— about the railway incident. translation: it targeted and coordinated _ translation: it targeted and coordinated act _ translation: it targeted and coordinated act of— translation: it targeted and coordinated act of sabotage i translation: it targeted and | coordinated act of sabotage has translation: it targeted and - coordinated act of sabotage hasjust coordinated act of sabotage has just struck the high—speed rail system, particularly with regard to the east and northern axes, and with a clear aim of bringing it to a standstill. it has had massive consequences, especially for hundreds of thousands of our countrymen, who are blocked and who were thinking only of leaving on holiday and regaining theirfamilies or leaving on holiday and regaining their families or looking at the olympic games. and obviously addressing you, i should like to also address my countrymen and tell them that i share their anger and their frustration, them that i share their anger and theirfrustration, because as i their frustration, because as i said once before, all they wanted to do was to leave on holiday, have a bit of a rest, be with their families

again and look at the olympic games, so i should like to say that i came here immediately to the crisis unit, together with the minister of the interior, in order to exchange information. and i can tell you that the mobilisation here is absolutely total, everybody is on deck, everybody is at their post, with one clear objective, and that is to propose as soon as possible alternative solutions and work on making sure that the network can recover. ~ , m, recover. with this widescale destruction _ recover. with this widescale destruction occurring - recover. with this widescale destruction occurring just i recover. with this widescale . destruction occurring just hours before the opening ceremony of the palace 2024 olympics, i asked the games' executive director about whether he is worried about the delays and what impact they could have. ., . , , delays and what impact they could have. ., ., , , ., ., have. the organisers at large, includin:

have. the organisers at large, including the _ have. the organisers at large, including the authorities, - have. the organisers at large, including the authorities, you| have. the organisers at large, - including the authorities, you have to prepare for different scenarios. and what i see here is a very quick reaction, and that gives me a lot of confidence, although at the same point, we have to feel for all of those impacted by these delays. the train commute to paris will be much slower, but a lot of people are impacted by these events, so it is a mixed feeling for all of those who are going through a very tough time, but also the confidence that the organisers really were not prepared for any kind of situation. this is definitely one. pare for any kind of situation. this is definitely one.— definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf _ definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf on _ definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf on the _ definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf on the train - definitely one. are you in touch - with the sncf on the train operators at the moment? is there any kind of cooperation between the ioc and the train operators? mat cooperation between the ioc and the train operators?— train operators? not directly, but throu~h train operators? not directly, but through the _ train operators? not directly, but through the organising _ train operators? not directly, but i through the organising committees, we have a superb relationship, so we are being kept appraised. the first thing we heard very quickly this

morning is that the works on the train tracks, east, west, and north, were very quick with teams on board to make the traffic could resume, albeit at slower pace, very quickly we were informed, and that is the way it should be. at the montparnasse station in paris, the tgv atlantique director, franck duburdieu, has given this update. it is extremely disappointing for us that this _ it is extremely disappointing for us that this should happen now. the teams _ that this should happen now. the teams are — that this should happen now. the teams are particularly under pressure, but our priority is to make — pressure, but our priority is to make sure _ pressure, but our priority is to make sure that everything gets back to normal_ make sure that everything gets back to normal as soon as possible, and make _ to normal as soon as possible, and make sure — to normal as soon as possible, and make sure that first priority to get people _ make sure that first priority to get pe0pte to — make sure that first priority to get people to their destinations is realised~ _

people to their destinations is realised. no entry whatsoever, and what we _ realised. no entry whatsoever, and what we are — realised. no entry whatsoever, and what we are doing is to make sure we are taking _ what we are doing is to make sure we are taking care of everybody who was shocked _ are taking care of everybody who was shocked or _ are taking care of everybody who was shocked or who needed care, reassuring them that they would be taken _ reassuring them that they would be taken care — reassuring them that they would be taken care of, and we have distributed tens of thousands of bottles — distributed tens of thousands of bottles of water, for example, and we are _ bottles of water, for example, and we are doing it with all the means we are doing it with all the means we have _ we are doing it with all the means we have available, that is to see all the _ we have available, that is to see all the administrative staff are deployed in the stations, and we have _ deployed in the stations, and we have got— deployed in the stations, and we have got all the volunteers also working — have got all the volunteers also working with us for the olympic games. — working with us for the olympic games, and we are really working on making _ games, and we are really working on making sure — games, and we are really working on making sure that the greatest number of passengers get to their destination safely.

no, there were four olympic games trains— no, there were four olympic games trains which — no, there were four olympic games trains which were cancelled, but we are getting — trains which were cancelled, but we are getting the athletes to their destination. i am are getting the athletes to their destination. lam not are getting the athletes to their destination. i am not particularly concerned — destination. i am not particularly concerned about them because i think they will— concerned about them because i think they will he _ concerned about them because i think they will be taken care of. joining me now is our correspondent hugh schofield. he is ata he is at a train station in the south of paris. bring us up to date on the very latest in times of disruption to those trains. here at the station _ disruption to those trains. here at the station which _ disruption to those trains. here at the station which has _ disruption to those trains. here at the station which has been - disruption to those trains. here at the station which has been worst. the station which has been worst hit, it seems that there is a slight improvement in the last hour or two, because they are saying that some trains are beginning to run. but there's only one in three trains running, and they are running with a delay of an hour and a half or two hours. so the picture appears to be that there is a gradual resumption of services, but don't expect for a

minute that you will get to where you want to go quickly. there's still loads of cancellations, it'll take through the weekend to work off the backlog, and at that point things should be back to normal with all these cables reinstalled and so on. so a mixed picture, certainly things improving, but the damage is done, and it will be a while before people get where they want to go. such a busy weekend, isn't it, anyway, without the olympics added to it? ., anyway, without the olympics added to it? . , ., ., to it? yeah, it is a two way thing here, to it? yeah, it is a two way thing here. because — to it? yeah, it is a two way thing here, because the _ to it? yeah, it is a two way thing here, because the people i to it? yeah, it is a two way thing here, because the people here l here, because the people here who are angry and depressed and sitting around in their hundreds inside with piles of luggage are people who want to get out of paris and go to their holiday destinations and watch the olympics wherever they are going. they are the people who have been stopped in their hundreds and thousands from going where they want to go. in reverse, there are the people from around the country

coming up for the opening ceremony this evening, or who are coming up for a weekend of competition is to go and see their country or their team or their sport, they are having difficulty arriving. it is both ways, and that is why it is quite clearly a deliberate attempt to cause maximum impact, get maximum publicity, and took reckless first key day of the olympics. fiend publicity, and took reckless first key day of the olympics. and hugh, there's already _ key day of the olympics. and hugh, there's already an _ key day of the olympics. and hugh, there's already an investigation. i key day of the olympics. and hugh, there's already an investigation. do | there's already an investigation. do we have any idea at this what has happened and who potentially could be behind these attacks? i happened and who potentially could be behind these attacks?— be behind these attacks? i think we know what has _ be behind these attacks? i think we know what has happened. - be behind these attacks? i think we know what has happened. the i be behind these attacks? i think we i know what has happened. the question that it was coordinated... in the south of paris, there was an attempt to sabotage a line there, which was stopped by railway workers, and the sort saboteurs in a white van, the

white man fled, but it was exactly the same time as the other attempts were revealed, in other words in the early hours of the morning side and so there is no doubt at all that this was planned by people who knew a bit about railways, because they chose the underground trench where the communications, fibre optics communications cables are buried. they choose to strike at points where the line forks so they would have maximum effect on two different parts of the line. they knew what they were doing, so all sorts of questions, obviously i will be asking who will be —— who could be behind it. one line of inquiry will behind it. one line of inquiry will be the ultraleft groups, anarchists, who have in the past struck against the rail network, people who hate the rail network, people who hate the idea of the olympics, people who are against the way society is organised in general and wants to make a point. the other question

will be whether or not there is a foreign hand behind all of this as well. people will be asking, could there be a russian involvement? far too early to speculate, but these are certainly avenues of inquiry which intelligence services will be looking into. which intelligence services will be looking into-— which intelligence services will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much. eurostar— looking into. hugh, thank you very much. eurostar has _ looking into. hugh, thank you very much. eurostar has advised - looking into. hugh, thank you very | much. eurostar has advised people not to travel today after attacks on those rail lines. the rail company has said in a statement thatjourney times to paris could be around an hour and a half longer because of trains needing to be diverted. this report now from st pancras. st pancras is the main terminal connecting the uk to france, so it is busy even on a normal day, but today they were expecting bigger crowds because it is a friday, it is the height of summer, people travel for long weekends, and there are crowds inside building up now, and there's quite a long queue of people

running down the side of the station's concourse. but staff we have spoken to are keen to stress that the crowds are not much bigger than they would have expected foot today —— for today, especially considering the olympics opening ceremony is happening tonight, they were expecting an increased number of passengers. eurostar is cancelling one in four of its services, just to clarify, that is notjust its services between london and paris, but all of its trains across its entire network. that is one in four trains, it estimates, will be cancelled. and that disruption will be expected to last over the weekend today, tomorrow, and sunday. earlier today, as you also said, they have been urging people to postpone or cancel their journeys if at all possible. despite this, inside, spirits among the crowd are quite high, a lot of people are travelling for olympic

events, they are quite excited still, and they feel that even though they are facing, as you said, those 1.5 hour delays, and hopefully they will get there and i'm looking forward to having a nice trip. there are also station staff inside the terminal helping people replan their journeys if they need to and offering advice about what they can do, how they can reschedule, and eurostar has said if people need to reschedule or cancel their trips, that they could do so free of charge and get a full refund. but for people who planned to see the opening ceremony tonight, or specific olympic events, this disruption could impact what would have been of the trip of a lifetime for them. , .,, ., , , have been of the trip of a lifetime forthem. , .,, ., , , , have been of the trip of a lifetime forthem. , ., , , ,., have been of the trip of a lifetime forthem. ., _ , for them. this obviously is a breach in security- — for them. this obviously is a breach in security. how _ for them. this obviously is a breach in security. how has _ for them. this obviously is a breach in security. how has this _ for them. this obviously is a breach in security. how has this happened | in security. how has this happened and how difficult is it to keep big

events like the olympic games completely secure? joining me now is former head of the national counter terrorism security office, chris phillips, who specialises in national infrastructure and crowded places strategy. how can one prevent incidents like this? ' . , , ., this? the difficulty with this of course is that _ this? the difficulty with this of course is that it _ this? the difficulty with this of course is that it is _ this? the difficulty with this of course is that it is miles i this? the difficulty with this of course is that it is miles awayl this? the difficulty with this of i course is that it is miles away from the area that is protected, so the police will have been working extremely hard with the military and security teams to prevent anyone from getting into the location where the actual opening ceremony is going to be, but of course this is miles away from that location, and it is impossible to keep that secure. what i would say is this doesn't look like terrorism to me, because there is no attempt to kill anyone, it is more an embarrassment for the country, and of course there are no shortage of people within france who

like the sabotage, as we have seen in the past. hat like the sabotage, as we have seen in the past-— in the past. not terrorism in your oinion, in the past. not terrorism in your opinion. but— in the past. not terrorism in your opinion, but something - in the past. not terrorism in your opinion, but something that i in the past. not terrorism in your opinion, but something that willl opinion, but something that will potentially have an impact, was meant to have an impact, on those trying to get to the games. what do we think about the way in which these games are being held? looking at the ceremony later on, there will be boats along the seine, it will not be listed. france wants these olympics to be very much part of the city, and that throws unique problems itself, doesn't it? —— it will not be in a stadium. problems itself, doesn't it? -- it will not be in a stadium. whoever lanned will not be in a stadium. whoever planned this _ will not be in a stadium. whoever planned this opening _ will not be in a stadium. whoever planned this opening ceremony . will not be in a stadium. whoever planned this opening ceremony it| will not be in a stadium. whoever- planned this opening ceremony it was not considering much about security, because it is very difficult to secure such a large area, with so many access points into the river. so it will be difficult. what i would say is that the french police and military have got far more numbers than we have in the uk, so they will have lots of resources to deal with it, but they are causing

themselves headaches. in the, really, over the next couple of weeks, will be an attack on the olympic games. so the police have got their hands full to give us a really safe games. stand got their hands full to give us a really safe games.— got their hands full to give us a really safe games. and things like this, things _ really safe games. and things like this, things like _ really safe games. and things like this, things like sabotage, - really safe games. and things like this, things like sabotage, as i really safe games. and things like this, things like sabotage, as you | this, things like sabotage, as you mentioned earlier, they are so hard to know if they are going to happen, where they are going to happen. you mentioned you don't think it is terrorism. what do you think or who do you think potentially could be behind it? ., ,., ., , do you think potentially could be behind it? ., ., , ., ,, behind it? there are so many groups in france who _ behind it? there are so many groups in france who like _ behind it? there are so many groups in france who like to _ behind it? there are so many groups in france who like to commit - in france who like to commit sabotage. the word sabotage comes from the french for throwing shoes into machinery to destroy it, so sabotage as part of french history, and many groups in france whojust don't like the government, don't like the waiters run, don't believe in the olympics, and believe in capitalism, etc, so in france, it is

a country that likes to do these things. i think the biggest concern is where does it go from here? this was a very organised attack in locations very disparate from each other, but with intimate knowledge of what the impact would be for the paris games. so let's hope that this is the end of it rather than the beginning. is the end of it rather than the beginning-— is the end of it rather than the beaainnin. , ,, ., beginning. chris phillips, former head of the _ beginning. chris phillips, former head of the national— head of the national counterterrorism security office, it is good to get your expertise, thank you very much. is good to get your expertise, thank you very much-— you very much. you're welcome. around the _ you very much. you're welcome. around the world _ you very much. you're welcome. around the world and _ you very much. you're welcome. around the world and across i you very much. you're welcome. around the world and across the | you very much. you're welcome. i around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this will be the first olympic games opening ceremony to be held outside a stadium. let's take a look at what we know so far. this map from french news website le monde shows

the route down the seine, starting in the east and finishing in the west by the eiffel tower. the heart of the french capital has been transformed into a stadium and theatre running along the river seine. the traditional parade of athletes will take place in dozens of boats along the seine passing the most iconic parisian landmarks on a six kilometre floating parade. the content and details of the ceremony remain under wraps, but the organisers have promised a show like no other and say it will be "daring and joyful." so things will be very different this year, but let's take a brief look back at ceremonies gone by. tokyo 2020 was a very different ceremony due to the covid pandemic. in brazil in 2016, rio dejaneiro brought the carnival atmosphere to their opening ceremony. and in london 2012, we were treated to delights from the spice girls and the queen's stunt with 007 james bond.

earlier, we heard from executive director christophe dubi — well, i also asked him how he's feeling about the opening ceremony and the games ahead. iam i am incredibly excited, but at the same time, you know that pressure of the moment where the work of the organisers and all of us within the sporting movement is revealed to the world. this is the kind of pressure you are under, so it is a mixture of excitement, but very humbling as well, because you know what is at stake. the world is watching. probably what is the biggest live show ever planned and delivered in a few hours, so it is an amazing moment in one's individual life. a billion probably watching tonight, and a few of us will also be looking at all the details behind the

scenes, and it is an amazing feeling, honestly. this will be the third time that paris is host of the summer games. the last time was in 1924, the time before that was 1900, and they were the second and seventh modern olympics in history. this year's of the 33rd. let's talk a little more about olympics history and what to expect this evening. join in the light is the editor of thejournal of olympic history, nobody better prepared to talk about the history of the olympics. good to speak to you. start me off with how the olympics have changed from 1900 today in terms of these opening ceremonies, because to have one outside the stadium completely is so unique, it will be exciting to see what they have in store for us. it certainly will. the main concern for tonight apart from of course the transport problems we have been hearing about is the weather, because the forecast is not terribly

promising for later on. it has stopped raining at the moment, so let's hope for the best. in 1900, it was part of a great exhibition, so there was not actually a formal opening ceremony in the way that we would know today. but in 1924, the chariots of fire olympics, very simple. the prince of wales was here, who became king edward viii, and the british team marched in with and the british team marched in with a band in bagpipes and kilts, so very different from today. one of the things the organisers have been stressing is that the games in 1924, fewer than 5% of the competitors were women. today we have complete gender equality, and the great britain team actually had more women than men taking part, many more

women taking part than in 1924. the whole thing is a much bigger enterprise than it used to be, and this can truly now be said to be the greatest show on earth. fiend greatest show on earth. and the climax of any — greatest show on earth. and the climax of any olympic _ greatest show on earth. and the climax of any olympic show i greatest show on earth. and the climax of any olympic show is i greatest show on earth. and the l climax of any olympic show is the lighting of the torch, is it not? tell me a little bit about the history of that and what it means for the ceremony to end with that moment. , , . ., . , moment. the olympic torch, the first ol mic moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch — moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch relay _ moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch relay was _ moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch relay was in _ moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch relay was in 1936 i moment. the olympic torch, the first olympic torch relay was in 1936 at i olympic torch relay was in 1936 at the berlin games, but this is meant to provide a link with the ancient games in olympia, that is where the name olympics comes from. and earlier this year at the kindled a flame in ancient olympia, amongst the ruins of the table, and this has been conveyed from greece by sailing ship to marseille, and just about every town in france. you remember in 2012 when it visited various communities in great britain, there

was an outpouring of enthusiasm, and this symbolises a connection between the ancient games and the modern games. keep the flame burning, it is a powerful message that the flame is the giver of life, warmth and light to your town, and it is a way of symbolising those little links and the history of the olympic games, so it is a wonderful symbol, and we still don't know who is going to like the final cauldron. late still don't know who is going to like the final cauldron. we don't, it is all a bit _ like the final cauldron. we don't, it is all a bit of— like the final cauldron. we don't, it is all a bit of a _ like the final cauldron. we don't, it is all a bit of a mystery, - it is all a bit of a mystery, everything being kept under wraps. so good to talk to you, thank you. there have been some surprise appearances this morning. here's los angeles native and hip hop star snoop dogg carrying the paris 2024 olympic torch earlier today. la will host the games in 2028. luckily whilst he was carrying the torch, he didn't drop it like it's hot.

ami am i the only one laughing at my jokes? deadly silence in my ear. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. our weather is set to get quite a lot warmer and sunnier as we go through this weekend and into next week, as we'll see injust a moment. mind you, today is not a bad day for most of england and wales. it's dry with lots of sunshine around, just an odd isolated shower for wales and northern england. you can count yourself very unlucky if you get one of those in scotland and northern ireland, ok, there will be quite a few

showers here, but even so probably just one 20 minute shower then the sun is out again and it will probably stay out for the rest of the day. so, overall, it's not a bad looking picture and temperatures running close to average for the time of year. for the olympics opening ceremony this evening, quite a high chance of seeing some thundery rain moving in for a time, so it might rain on the parade here. back home, it's looking like a largely dry start to the night. we could see a few mist and fog patches forming around coastal areas for wales and western england and a threat of some rain moving into northern ireland towards the end of the night. through the weekend ahead, though, it is a weekend where things will improve, it will become drier, sunnier and warmer. that said, saturday is going to be quite a showery day and that's because we've got this trough in the jet stream pattern. by sunday, a massive change in the jet stream. we get a ridge pattern over the uk and what that does is it builds an area of high pressure, so we lose these weather fronts and, by sunday, we say hi to the high. saturday, then, weather—wise, it's another showery kind of day. we start off with a bit of rain

across western areas, a few mist and fog patches too. sunny spells elsewhere to start the day. into the afternoon there will be some showers around and the heaviest of these looks set to form across eastern scotland and parts of north—east england. still, between the downpours and thejuly sunshine it's going to feel very pleasant, with temperatures quite widely into the 20s. the heat starts to build on sunday as high pressure settles the weather down, so a dry day, plenty of sunshine and those temperatures widely climbing into the 20s, reaching highs of up to 26 in the capital. for next week it is across parts of the midlands, east anglia, south—east england that we will see the highest temperatures, quite often reaching the high 20s, maybe even the low 30s, in the very hottest spots. further north and west we'll keep the fine and dry weather for a couple of days, as well, with temperatures continuing to run above average. there is a risk of seeing some thundery rain for some of us by wednesday.

this is business today — live from new york — where shares on wall street are bouncing back — after that brutal sell—off this week that saw trillions wiped off global markets. helping restore confidence —

new data showing inflation here in the us continues to fall — boosting hopes of interest rate cuts from the federal reserve. trump's former comms chief anthony scaramucci is warning not to trust the former president on tech. "the mooch" tells the bbc why top silicon valley bosses are ill advised to fund the former president's re—election bid. he was in the making with the budget for feature film comedy fast production challenge of the olympic opening ceremony. hello and welcome to business today. i'm erin delmore. wall street has that �*friday feeling' — with all three main stock indices opening strongly higher as confidence returns to the market. it's a positive end to a brutal week — a sell—off in big tech shares

sparked off a rout that saw trillions of dollars