French police are investigating a suspected arson attack as the likely cause of a Saturday power outage in southern France’s Alpes-Maritimes region, including Cannes, currently hosting its renowned film festival.
“We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,” said a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie, adding that no arrests had been made at this stage.
The local authority for the Alpes-Maritimes region had said earlier on Saturday that the western part of the area, which includes Cannes, was suffering from a major electricity outage and that RTE France was working on restoring power.
The Cannes Film Festival said the closing ceremony would take place as planned on Saturday evening.
“The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” it said in a statement.
Southern France Power Outage
On Saturday, a significant power outage disrupted parts of southern France, notably affecting Cannes during the final day of its renowned film festival.
The blackout impacted approximately 160,000 homes in the Alpes-Maritimes region, including Cannes, where the 78th Cannes Film Festival was concluding.
The blackout began in the morning, following an earlier fire at a substation in Biancon during the night.
The power outage started around 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), according to France’s electricity grid operator RTE, which said on X that crews were working swiftly to restore electricity.
A spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie said that authorities are investigating whether the fire that caused the outage was intentionally set. So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
Despite the disruption, the Palais des Festivals—Cannes’ main venue—activated its backup power system, ensuring all planned events and screenings, including the closing ceremony, went ahead smoothly, the festival confirmed in a statement.
Beyond the festival, the blackout affected train services, traffic signals, and local businesses.
By mid-afternoon, power restoration efforts were underway, with electricity returning to many areas by 3:00 p.m.
(With inputs from Reuters)
