Starmer was meant to be travelling on the cross-Channel rail service from London to Paris for the Olympics opening ceremony, in his first visit to France since being elected earlier this month.

But a spokeswoman said he flew instead due to the delays and cancellations.

France is welcoming dozens of heads of state and government and royalty for the Olympics that begin with a dazzling ceremony on the river Seine on Friday.

Just hours before the ceremony, arson attacks threw France's high-speed rail network into chaos affecting tens of thousands of passengers, in what officials called premeditated acts of "sabotage".

One in four Eurostar trains were cancelled, the company said, with the disruption set to continue over the weekend.

Beyond the cancellations, Eurostar trains departing and arriving in Paris will run on regular lines rather than high-speed routes.

That would add an extra 90 minutes onto a Paris-London trip that usually takes around two hours and 20 minutes, Eurostar said.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)