French police are investigating a suspected arson attack as the main cause of a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region in southern France, including Cannes, which is hosting its world-famous annual film festival.
“We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,” a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie said on Saturday, adding that no arrests had been made at this stage.
Police sources said the outage was caused by an overnight fire, probably an arson attack, at a high-voltage substation in the village of Tanneron, which supplies Cannes.
Both the Tanneron power substation and an electricity pylon in Villeneuve-Loubet were vandalised overnight, prosecutors and local officials later confirmed.
The local authority for the Alpes-Maritimes region had said earlier on Saturday that the western part of the area, which includes Cannes, was suffering from a major electricity outage.
The outage, which affected 160,000 homes, according to RTE and regional officials, started shortly after 10am local time (08:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Locals cheered loudly and music blasted from beachfront speakers as power was restored around 3pm (13:00 GMT).
Traffic lights had been knocked out, and businesses closed on the main shopping street of the Alpes-Maritimes holiday destination.
Separate power outages swept across the Iberian Peninsula and parts of southern France on Monday, disrupting critical infrastructure and airport operations. Officials denied foul play.
While Spain and Portugal suffered blackouts last month, the French Basque Country saw brief power outages with interruptions lasting only a few minutes, according to RTE.
The latest outage came just hours before the 78th Cannes Film Festival closure with an awards ceremony at the Palais des Festivals on Saturday evening.
Despite the power cut, festival organisers earlier said they had switched to an alternative electricity supply, which enabled them to “maintain the events and screenings planned for today in normal conditions, including the closing ceremony”.
After a politically charged two weeks, a jury led by French actor Juliette Binoche is expected to announce the winners among 22 films competing for the Palme d’Or for best film.
This year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza and United States President Donald Trump were the biggest talking points at the festival. More than 900 actors and filmmakers signed an open letter denouncing the genocide in Gaza, according to the organisers.
The post Arson attack probed as Cannes and parts of southern France suffer power cut appeared first on Al Jazeera.
