The city of Cannesin the French Riviera, headquarters of the renowned film festival, had a Mass blackout which lasted at least five hours and affected more than 160 thousand families in the area and neighboring towns. The Prosecutor’s Office investigates possible intentional damages in one of the networks that distribute energy to the city.
Fearing for the development of the Clausura program, the organization sought to reassure attendees through a statement confirming that the ceremony would remain standing. Finally, the Gold palm He was awarded to the Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi for his production A simple accident.
The blackout occurred around 10.00 (local time), which generated alarm among the inhabitants after the traffic lights stopped working and occurred Chaos in rail and land transport.
International media such as The Spanish They reported that the operator of the Electric Transmission System in France, Electricity Transmission Network (RTE), said the cause was a breakdown caused by an “intentional fire” in a substation from the Cannes region, followed by a cut in a high voltage line.
The EFE agency stressed that the RTE service could not react on time, since the electric laying was weakened after a first incident that occurred at dawn, when a fire occurred in a substation in Tonneron, north of the second incident.
Both events occurred separately, but the Prosecutor’s Office suspects that they could have a common origin. The first incident occurred around 2.45 on Saturday, and the second, at 10.00. It is presumed that both were intentional.
According to The Spanishthe first fire forced to cut the electric flow in the sea western for several minutes. The repair of that area moved the authorities of the second affected area away, where an electric tower fell on the high voltage lines, interrupting the supply for more than five hours.
@calialdia 🇫🇷 #France | 🚨#attention #Lasthora Mass blackout in #Cannes ♬ Original sound – CALIALDIA
French authorities investigate whether there is a relationship between both incidents. They indicated that in the substation, flammable material used to stir the flames. In addition, three of the four pillars of the high voltage tower were sectioned, which reinforces the sabotage hypothesis.
Data collected by The Spanish They point out that the tower affected in the second incident was “abnormally inclined” and that the basis of one of its pillars would have been cut with a saw, which strengthens the suspicion of a criminal act.
@mikadecannes #blackout #Cannes #Festivealdufilm #Cannes2025 #today #Coupuredecourant ♬ They are original – Mika de Cannes
The French Prosecutor’s Office opened a formal investigation into these facts, which he considers of criminal origin.
As a consequence of the blackout, the festival had to delay its activities momentarily. The Cannes Festival Palace activated one of its three autonomous power supply systems, which allowed to resume all scheduled projections and events.