Arson attacks cause travel chaos before start of Olympics in Paris NBC Bay Area [Video]

Arsonists attacked the French high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe for some 800,000 people, including Olympic athletes heading to the grand Opening Ceremony of the Games in the evening.

French officials condemned the attacks as “criminal actions,” though they said there was no sign of a direct link to the Games. Prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation saying the crimes — among them property damage threatening the nation’s “fundamental interests” — could carry sentences of 10 to 20 years.

“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, a 42-year-old traveler waiting at the Gare du Nord station in Paris as she learned that her train to London was delayed by the rail chaos.

As Paris authorities geared up for a spectacular parade on and along the Seine River, three fires were reported before dawn near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est, causing …