A massive power outage hit Cannes and the surrounding areas of the French Riviera on Saturday, the final day of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. This unexpected blackout left around 160,000 homes without electricity, as reported by France's national electricity operator, RTE.
Police departments in the region are investigating a possible arson attack as a leading cause of the power cut, which sparked considerable disruptions for festival attendees. Despite the chaos, festival organizers assured that the closing ceremony would continue as planned, utilizing alternative power generators.
Local businesses outside the festival also felt the strain of the outage. "Another hour and I'll throw everything away," lamented Laurent Aboukrat, owner of the Jamin restaurant, explaining that his refrigerators have been non-operational since morning. Many struggled to serve food and drinks, with Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic commenting on the dire situation: "Cannes is in a total slowdown, meltdown, there's no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants, so this is like crisis territory."
RTE confirmed that power was restored by 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT). Throughout the outage, several film screenings were interrupted before organizers resorted to their emergency generators. Saturday was particularly significant as it marked the announcement of the coveted Palme d'Or, the top honor awarded during the festival, by a jury chaired by French actress Juliette Binoche.
