French authorities suspect arson may have caused a power outage that disrupted the final day of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. The blackout affected about 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes area, including Cannes. The outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes and a fallen high-voltage line at another location.
Authorities are investigating what caused the line to collapse and believe the substation fire was likely deliberate. Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect for the area, condemned the “serious acts of damage to electrical infrastructures” in a statement. He said all resources are being used to find and arrest those responsible.
French police investigate arson effects
The power outage affected early festival activities, but organizers said the Palais des Festivals had switched to an independent power supply. They confirmed that all scheduled events, including the closing ceremony and Palme d’Or award, would proceed as planned.
Traffic lights in Cannes and nearby Antibes stopped working, causing traffic jams. Most shops along the Croisette remained closed, and train service was disrupted. Screenings at the Cineum, a satellite venue, were briefly suspended.
Power was restored around 3 p.m. local time, just hours before the Palme d’Or ceremony. The top contenders for the festival’s most prestigious prize include Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” and Óliver Laxe’s “Sirât.”
