Authorities probe vandalism of electrical infrastructure as festival events continue
Electricity has been restored in Cannes after a major power outage on Saturday disrupted daily life and threatened the events of the Cannes Film Festival.
Earlier Saturday, about 160,000 households in France's Alpes-Maritimes department lost power after a high-voltage line collapsed, electricity network operator RTE said on X.
The blackout followed an overnight fire at an electrical substation near Cannes that had weakened the regional power network, France 24 reported.
A spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie stated that the authorities are investigating whether the fire was deliberately started.
Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department, strongly condemned “serious acts of damage to electrical infrastructures.”
“All resources are mobilized to identify, track down, arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of these acts,” Hottiaux added.
Cannes Film Festival organizers confirmed that the power outage disrupted early activities on Saturday.
The Palais des Festivals, which hosts the city's main events, has switched to an independent power source, and officials have assured that all events, including the Closing Ceremony, will go ahead as planned.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival, which has been held in the city every year since its inception, is scheduled to conclude with a closing ceremony later Saturday.
