Paris Olympics off to rough start, with sabotaged trains and weather dampening mood before opening [Video]

PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics were getting off to a rough start Friday, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network and cloudy skies, with rain forecast, over the French capital ahead of its sprawling, audacious opening ceremony.

On a day of utmost importance for France and its capital, with dozens of heads of state and government in town for the Olympic opening and a global audience topping 1 billion expected to tune in, authorities were scrambling to deal with widespread rail disruptions caused by what they described as coordinated overnight sabotage of high-speed train lines.

Overcast skies over Paris further dampened the mood. Together, travel chaos in Paris train stations and the drizzly weather underscored potential vulnerabilities of the host city’s bold decisions to break with Olympic traditions and stage an opening ceremony like no other.