The picturesque city of Cannes, along with other areas of the French Riviera, experienced a severe power outage on Saturday, impacting the last day of the iconic Cannes Film Festival. The outage left around 160,000 households without electricity, as reported by France's energy operator, RTE. Authorities have initiated an investigation amid suspicions of an arson attack being the incident's primary cause.
Despite the widespread power failure, festival organizers announced that the closing ceremony would proceed as scheduled, thanks to an alternative power supply. Electricity services were restored by 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT), according to RTE. Local businesses, however, struggled to cope during the outage, as many restaurants and shops came to a standstill.
Laurent Aboukrat, owner of the Jamin restaurant in Cannes, expressed frustration, stating that his refrigerators had been without power since morning. "Cannes is in total slowdown; there's no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants. This is crisis territory," lamented Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic, highlighting the severity of the situation.
As officials investigate the potential arson of a power substation — "looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately," according to a gendarmerie spokesperson — excitement still surrounds the festival's conclusion. The one and only Juliette Binoche, along with her jury, is set to announce the prestigious Palme d'Or winner. Several film screenings were interrupted earlier on Saturday, but thanks to quick actions, organizers managed to utilize private generators to continue the festival activities.
Despite the widespread power failure, festival organizers announced that the closing ceremony would proceed as scheduled, thanks to an alternative power supply. Electricity services were restored by 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT), according to RTE. Local businesses, however, struggled to cope during the outage, as many restaurants and shops came to a standstill.
Laurent Aboukrat, owner of the Jamin restaurant in Cannes, expressed frustration, stating that his refrigerators had been without power since morning. "Cannes is in total slowdown; there's no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants. This is crisis territory," lamented Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic, highlighting the severity of the situation.
As officials investigate the potential arson of a power substation — "looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately," according to a gendarmerie spokesperson — excitement still surrounds the festival's conclusion. The one and only Juliette Binoche, along with her jury, is set to announce the prestigious Palme d'Or winner. Several film screenings were interrupted earlier on Saturday, but thanks to quick actions, organizers managed to utilize private generators to continue the festival activities.
