A massive power outage hit the city of Cannes, France, affecting over 160,000 homes and disrupting the final day of the Cannes Film Festival. The outage was caused by a suspected act of vandalism at a substation in the nearby village of Tanneron, which supplying power to Cannes. A second outage occurred when a power pole near the town of Villeneuve-Loubet was damaged.
The outages caused significant disruptions to daily life in Cannes, with many businesses and restaurants struggling to operate. “The city was completely shut down, no coffee anywhere, and I think the croissants were all gone too,” said Darren Warkov, an Australian film producer, in an interview with Reuters. “It was like a crisis zone.”
The Cannes Film Festival was also impacted, with screenings delayed due to the lack of power. However, organizers were able to use generators to continue the festival, and the closing ceremony went ahead as planned. The festival saw the awarding of the prestigious Palme d’Or to Iranian director Jafar Panahi for his film “Un simple accident”.
The outages are being investigated as a potential act of sabotage, with authorities looking into the causes of the damage to the substation and power pole. The incident has raised concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to vandalism and the potential impacts on daily life and major events like the Cannes Film Festival.
Key Facts
- Over 160,000 homes affected by the power outage in Cannes
- Suspected act of vandalism at a substation in Tanneron caused the outage
- Second outage occurred due to damage to a power pole near Villeneuve-Loubet
- Cannes Film Festival disrupted, but continued with generators
- Palme d’Or awarded to Iranian director Jafar Panahi for “Un simple accident”
Source
The information in this article is based on reports from BBC News.