Possible arson attack? French police investigate blackouts in southern France, Cannes festival hit

Police forces in France have been investigating a possible arson attack behind a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region of southern France on Saturday. The blackouts also affected Cannes, which had been hosting its world-famous annual film festival.

"We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately," said a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie, adding that no arrests had been made at this stage.

About 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes region lost electricity after a high-voltage line fell Saturday morning, electricity network operator RTE said on X. This followed a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes overnight, which had already weakened the grid.

Massively disrupting traffic in the region, the blackouts rudely interrupted a prize ceremony at the Palais des Festivals—the official venue of the Cannes film festival—causing it to switch to an independent power supply, a Cannes statement said.

“All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” the statement added. 

“At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway.”

Traffic lights in parts of Cannes and the surrounding city of Antibes stopped working after 10 AM, leading to traffic jams and confusion in crowded areas. Most shops in the area remained closed, with local food kiosks switching to cash-only transactions. Train services in Cannes were also disrupted, an Associated Press report said.

Authorities have stated that restoration efforts were underway alongside the investigation, urging residents of the region to remain cautious during travel.

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