In brief
On the final day of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, a significant power outage caused by suspected sabotage brought screenings to a halt, inconveniencing both attendees and local businesses.
In the early hours of Saturday, around 160,000 residents in Cannes and its outskirts were left without electricity after an electrical substation was set ablaze, followed by damage to a nearby pylon. Despite this disruption, festival organizers were able to secure alternative power to ensure the closing ceremony would proceed as planned. As the morning unfolded, an initial power cut, attributed to an arson attack on a substation in Tanneron, was soon compounded by a second outage when the legs of a power pylon were deliberately cut near Villeneuve-Loubet. Restaurants and shops in Cannes reported struggles to keep operations running, with local restaurant owner Laurent Aboukrat expressing frustration as his refrigeration units failed. The ambiance in Cannes shifted dramatically, with one Australian producer summarizing the crisis as "total slowdown, meltdown," lamenting the absence of coffee and pastries. Despite the challenges posed by the outages, organizers swiftly resorted to private generators, allowing the festival to continue its operations. As the festival prepared for its finale, French actress Juliette Binoche and her jury were set to announce the coveted Palme d'Or winner, ensuring the show would go on amidst the chaos.
