A serious energy outage struck southeastern France on Saturday morning, disrupting visitors and briefly halting occasions on the Cannes Movie Pageant as the distinguished occasion ready handy out its prime prize.
Energy was restored round 3 p.m. native time, as music started blasting once more from beachfront audio system. The top of the blackout was greeted with loud cheers from locals.
Earlier, about 160,000 households within the Alpes-Maritimes division misplaced electrical energy after a high-voltage line fell Saturday morning, electrical energy community operator RTE mentioned on X. The outage got here hours after a fireplace at {an electrical} substation close to Cannes in a single day had already weakened the grid.
Police have opened an investigation into doable arson.
“We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,” mentioned a spokesperson for the French nationwide gendarmerie.
Visitors lights are switched off throughout an electrical energy outage in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, Might 24, 2025.
Lewis Joly / AP
Cannes Movie Pageant organizers confirmed the outage affected the early actions of Saturday and mentioned the Palais des Festivals — the Croisette’s important venue — had switched to an impartial energy provide.
“All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” the assertion mentioned. “At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway.”
Visitors lights in elements of Cannes and the encircling metropolis of Antibes stopped working after 10 a.m. native time, resulting in visitors jams and confusion in metropolis facilities. Most outlets alongside the Croisette remained closed, and native meals kiosks have been solely accepting money. Practice service in Cannes was additionally disrupted.
Screenings on the Cineum, one of many competition’s satellite tv for pc venues, have been briefly suspended, the competition added.
The lineup was unveiled final month for Cannes.
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