A massive power outage hit the French Riviera, leaving at least 45,000 homes in the dark. This is the second time in two days that a large-scale outage has occurred in the region.
The latest incident happened in the city of Nice, where a fire broke out at a substation around 2 am on Sunday. Authorities suspect that this may be another act of sabotage.
Police found tire tracks and a damaged entrance at the substation. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, condemned the “hostile acts” that are affecting the country.
The power outage also affected Nice Airport, the city’s tram network, and nearby towns like Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer. Power was restored later in the morning.
This incident comes just a day after a similar outage occurred in the city of Cannes, which is not far from Nice. That outage affected over 160,000 homes and disrupted the Cannes Film Festival.
The prosecutor’s office in France said that a substation in the village of Tanneron, which supplies power to Cannes, was attacked, causing a fire. Later, a power pole near the town of Villeneuve-Loubet was damaged, leading to a second outage.
So far, there is no indication that the outages in Nice and Cannes are connected. However, Mayor Estrosi said that the city will increase its protection of the power grid and an investigation has been launched, with suspicions of a coordinated arson attack.
Source: BBC