PARIS: High-speed train travel resumed in northern France on Tuesday after an electrical fault forced the cancelation of Eurostar services and severe delays on others.
Seventeen Eurostar trains connecting Paris with London and continental Europe were canceled on Monday after the fault on an overhead cable on the line in northern France, Eurostar said.
The company has canceled three Paris-London services on Tuesday, according to its schedule. There were still delays on other trains but not as severe as the disruptions endured by passengers on Monday.
“The repair work was completed according to schedule, and this morning we are resuming normal traffic on the high-speed line,” a spokesperson for French operator SNCF said.
Trains that did run on Monday were diverted onto slower routes.
It remains unclear what caused the incident on the line between Moussy and Longueil in northern France.
The incident was the latest to affect Eurostar during the holiday season at a time when the company has faced criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London route.
The theft of cables on train tracks in northern France caused two days of problems in June.
SNCF has a majority shareholding in Eurostar, with Belgian railways, Quebec investment fund CDPQ and US fund manager Federated Hermes holding minority stakes.
High-speed train travel resumes in northern France after Eurostars canceled
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High-speed train travel resumes in northern France after Eurostars canceled
- Seventeen Eurostar trains connecting Paris with London and continental Europe were canceled on Monday
- Electrical fault on an overhead cable on the line in northern France latest to affect Eurostar services
British group Bob Vylan sue Irish broadcaster RTE for defamation
- Punk-rap duo launch proceedings at Irish High Court over TV news report that accused them of ‘antisemitic’ chants during Glastonbury Festival performance
- Solicitors say ‘death to the IDF’ chant had been ‘criticizing military actions’ by the Israeli army and at no point targeted Jewish people
LONDON: British rap duo Bob Vylan are suing Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, for defamation over its reporting of their chants from the stage at the Glastonbury Festival in opposition to the actions of the Israeli military during the war in Gaza.
Following the group’s performance in June, RTE News reported that lead singer Pascal Robinson-Foster had led antisemitic chanting.
“These allegations are categorically denied by our clients and are entirely untrue,” Phoenix Law Solicitors, acting for the group, said on Tuesday. The firm confirmed that legal proceedings had been launched at the High Court in Dublin on Monday on behalf of Robinson-Foster and drummer Wade Laurence George.
During the performance, Robinson-Foster led chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces, and “Free, free, Palestine.”
The performance sparked an outcry in the UK, including accusations that the group were guilty of hate speech, as well as criticism of the BBC for allowing the chants to go out on a live stream.
The group maintain that their actions were not antisemitic but merely a show of support for Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
“At their Glastonbury performance, Bob Vylan made statements expressing support for Palestinian self-determination and criticizing military actions by the Israel Defence Forces,” Phoenix Law Solicitors said.
“At no point did their comments target Jewish people or express hatred towards any group.
“In fact, our client has stated: ‘We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people.’ The comments made were politically charged but not antisemitic in nature.”
The group had requested an apology and retraction from RTE, the law firm added, but the broadcaster “failed to address the harm caused.” The aim of the legal proceedings is to “seek redress for the significant reputational and emotional damage suffered by our clients.”
Since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel led by Hamas, the Israeli government and its supporters have increasingly accused those critical of the state’s actions during the conflict of antisemitism.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to health officials in Gaza, and Israel’s actions been widely condemned by human rights groups, academics and many governments as amounting to genocide.
Bob Vylan’s festival performance took place at a time when scores of Palestinians were being killed each day, including many gunned down as they tried to obtain food from humanitarian aid hubs.
“Our clients are no stranger to utilizing their freedom of expression to speak out against the genocide in Gaza,” said Darragh Mackin, a Phoenix Law solicitor.
“There is however a fundamental distinction between speaking critically about the role of the Israeli state forces, and being antisemitic.”
RTE has said it does not comment on legal proceedings.
After the Glastonbury performance, Bob Vylan faced a backlash in the UK and abroad. Organizers of several music festivals canceled scheduled performances by the group, and US authorities revoked their visas. Robinson-Foster was interviewed by police last month but has not been charged with any crime.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as “appalling hate speech.” The BBC issued an apology for broadcasting the performance, saying it regretted not taking dawn the live stream.
During a podcast appearance in October, Robinson-Foster defended his actions and said the criticism his group had faced was “minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through.”
