Arson suspected as energy outage disrupts closing day of Cannes Movie Pageant

A serious energy outage struck southeastern France on Saturday morning, threatening to jeopardise the Cannes Movie Pageant’s closing celebrations, together with the much-anticipated Palme d’Or ceremony.

Police stated they’ve opened an investigation into potential arson.

Energy was restored hours earlier than the ceremony, round 3 pm native time, as music started blasting once more from beachfront audio system. The tip of the blackout was greeted with loud cheers from locals.

Earlier, about 160,000 households within the Alpes-Maritimes division misplaced electrical energy after a high-voltage line fell Saturday morning, electrical energy community operator RTE stated on X. The outage got here hours after a hearth at {an electrical} substation close to Cannes in a single day had already weakened the grid.

“We’re trying into the probability of a hearth being began intentionally,” stated a police spokesperson for the French nationwide gendarmerie.

In an announcement, Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes division, condemned “severe acts of harm to electrical infrastructures.”

“All assets are mobilised to determine, observe down, arrest and convey to justice the perpetrators of those acts,” stated Hottiaux.

Cannes Movie Pageant organisers confirmed the outage affected the early actions of Saturday and stated the Palais des Festivals — the Croisette’s principal venue — had switched to an impartial energy provide.

“All scheduled occasions and screenings, together with the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as deliberate and below regular situations,” the assertion stated. “At this stage, the reason for the outage has not but been recognized. Restoration efforts are underway.”

Site visitors lights in elements of Cannes and the encircling metropolis of Antibes stopped working after 10 am, resulting in site visitors jams and confusion in metropolis centres. Most retailers alongside the Croisette remained closed, and native meals kiosks have been solely accepting money. Prepare service in Cannes was additionally disrupted.

Screenings on the Cineum, one of many competition’s satellite tv for pc venues, have been briefly suspended, the competition added.

The Palme d’Or — the competition’s most prestigious prize — was set to be awarded Saturday night time, with prime contenders together with Joachim Trier’s household drama “Sentimental Worth,” Jafar Panahi’s revenge thriller “It Was Simply an Accident,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s political thriller “The Secret Agent,” and Óliver Laxe’s desert street journey “Sirât.”