Authorities in southeastern France are investigating a suspected arson attack that may have caused a major power outage on Saturday, putting the final day of the Cannes Film Festival — including the prestigious Palme d’Or award ceremony — at risk.
Electricity was restored just in time for the evening festivities, with power returning around 3 p.m. local time. As music resumed along the beach and speakers came back to life, crowds cheered the end of the blackout.
Investigators are looking into a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes, which they believe may have weakened the power grid. The outage itself occurred later, when a high-voltage line failed at a separate location. The cause of that collapse is still under investigation.
Roughly 160,000 homes in the Alpes-Maritimes region were left without electricity. Local official Laurent Hottiaux condemned the damage as “serious acts” against critical infrastructure and vowed that all efforts were being made to find and prosecute those responsible.
Despite the disruption, Cannes Film Festival organizers confirmed that scheduled events, including the closing ceremony, would continue as planned. The Palais des Festivals, the main venue on the Croisette, had switched to a backup power system to keep activities running.
In the hours following the outage, traffic lights in parts of Cannes and nearby Antibes went dark, causing congestion and confusion. Many shops along the famous Croisette stayed closed, and local food vendors accepted only cash due to electronic payment failures. Train service was also temporarily affected.
Screenings at Cineum, a satellite festival venue, were briefly paused but later resumed.
The Palme d’Or, the top prize at Cannes, was to be presented Saturday night. Final contenders included Joachim Trier’s family-centered “Sentimental Value,” Jafar Panahi’s suspense-filled “It Was Just an Accident,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s politically charged “The Secret Agent,” and Óliver Laxe’s meditative road film “Sirât.”
