Malicious vandalism causes internet, mobile network outages in France

PARIS

Several areas of the capital Paris and other cities across France experienced internet and mobile network outages on Wednesday after cables of the optic fiber network were found to have been deliberately vandalized.

According to Zone ADSL, a site for internet and mobile packages, there were an estimated 1,812 mobile breakdowns and 9,983 landline breakdowns of Orange, SFR, Free, and Bouygues operators.

“Cable cuts have been confirmed in Ile-de-France (Paris region) impacting the fixed and mobile network. We are in contact with the operators that are in the process of restoring the service,” Cedric O, minister of state for digital transition and electronic telecommunications, announced on Twitter.

Network provider “Free” also published photos of the slashed cables on social media and said it identified “multiple malicious acts on infra fiber during the night and the morning.”

The cables were slashed at six different points in a coordinated manner in the Paris region which also affected the long-distance fiber network, disrupting internet connectivity in Lyon, Besancon, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Reims, and Gravelines neighboring Paris in the north sectors, a BFMTV news report said.

PARIS

According to Zone ADSL, a site for internet and mobile packages, there were an estimated 1,812 mobile breakdowns and 9,983 landline breakdowns of Orange, SFR, Free, and Bouygues operators.

Network provider “Free” also published photos of the slashed cables on social media and said it identified “multiple malicious acts on infra fiber during the night and the morning.”