Power Restored in Cannes After Five-Hour Outage
A major blackout struck France’s Alpes-Maritimes region on Saturday, cutting power to parts of Cannes just as the film festival prepared for its closing ceremony.
Power has been fully restored in Cannes after a major power outage that lasted over five hours on the final day of the Cannes Film Festival.
The power restoration was achieved just in time for the prestigious closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, ensuring the event’s successful conclusion despite the earlier major outage.
The blackout, which began around 10 a.m. local time, affected approximately 160,000 households in Cannes and surrounding areas in southern France.
Authorities are investigating the outage as a possible arson attack linked to a deliberately ignited fire at a high-voltage substation near the village of Tanneron.
Despite the extensive blackout, the Palais des Festivals—the main venue for the festival—had switched to an independent power supply early on, allowing all scheduled events, including film screenings and the closing ceremony, to continue under normal conditions. This backup power source ensured that the festival’s top awards presentation, including the Palme d’Or ceremony, proceeded as planned in the evening without disruption.
There were brief interruptions to some morning film screenings as the festival transitioned to generator power, but these were quickly resolved. The outage also caused non-functional traffic signals and temporary closures of shops and internet disruptions in the city, but the festival’s core activities remained unaffected.
