French airport evacuated for 'security reasons' after arson attack on rail network

A French airport is being evacuated for "safety reasons" as the country gears up for the Olympics opening ceremony later today.

The Basel Mulhouse airport is on the France-Switzerland border. On Facebook, airport officials said: "We regret this inconvenience - it is for the safety of passengers and employees."

Reports indicate the closure of the airport was due to concers over a bomb alert.

It comes after high-speed rail services to Paris have been severely disrupted by what officials described as “criminal actions” and sabotage, hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The incidents paralysed several high-speed lines linking the French capital to the rest of France and to neighbouring countries, according to transport minister Patrice Vergriete. Speaking on BFM television, he described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices, adding: “Everything indicates that these are criminal fires