East Station crash: Philippe Martinez denies ‘any connection’ with social movement

The mobilization against pension reform and the stoppage of traffic at the East Station are “unrelated”. This is the position defended this Wednesday morning by the first secretary of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, regarding the destruction of cables on the night of Monday to Tuesday in Vaire-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), which is necessary for the direction of the Paris-East network.

Asked about Franceinfo, he said that “an investigation is underway and we will see what the results of this investigation will bring. Such a label is unhealthy.” He adds that “it’s not the first time this has happened and I think we have to be careful with labels like that.” ». He says he agrees with the fact that criminals endanger lives and that “when there are such crimes, there are sanctions.” Completely interrupted on Tuesday, traffic remains very disrupted on Wednesday.

The SNCF filed a complaint, and the Mo (Seine-et-Marne) prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the intentional humiliation and threat to the lives of others. “There is no lead, no group statement,” a source close to the investigation told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “There is nothing to predict who and why carried out this act of sabotage that greatly harmed our clients,” said Olivier Bancel, operations and network manager at SNCF. But according to two railroad executives, the perpetrators of the “sabotage” “necessarily knew the network well” given the location of the target.

50 cables and 600 chains to restore

The first finds by Moe’s prosecutor’s office indicate some kind of organization: two concrete panels blocking access to the hatch, where the first box of electrical cables was located, were “removed and stowed.” The same operation was observed on a second box, also burning, accessible through a tunnel located under the tracks, the prosecution said, specifying that “the access gate to the SNCF tracks was open without any sign of forced entry.”

Repair is tedious. “There are very specialized teams at work,” Olivier Bancel explained. “About fifty cables were damaged and set on fire. And about 600 safety chains. You have to take them one by one, check, repair. We don’t compromise on security. »