A large-scale power outage struck the western part of France’s Alpes-Maritimes department on the morning of Saturday 24 May, leaving approximately 160,000 households without electricity and briefly disrupting screenings at the Cannes Film Festival. The outage, which began at around 10:00am local time, affected multiple communes including Cannes and Antibes.
The prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes confirmed the incident via social media, stating that emergency services and power operators were working to restore supply. The blackout was accompanied by the failure of traffic control systems, causing widespread disruption on roads. Reports described scenes of confusion in Antibes, with shop workers outside their premises and fire brigades responding to lift malfunctions caused by sudden stoppages.
The national transmission operator RTE told BFMTV that the failure was linked to a fire which broke out at 02:45am at the Biançon substation. The fire weakened a key transmission line. Subsequently, at around 10:00am, a high-voltage pylon collapsed, further aggravating the situation. RTE confirmed that switching operations were under way to reroute power, but the timeframe for full restoration remained uncertain. The gendarmerie is investigating the incident and is examining the possibility of arson.
Telecommunication services also experienced outages. Some mobile network operators lost coverage entirely in central Cannes, contributing to what local media described as “general chaos” in parts of the city.
The Cannes Film Festival, currently in its final weekend, was directly affected by the disruption. Two scheduled screenings in the morning were interrupted for approximately five minutes, though power was restored via a generator at the Palais des Festivals. Organisers stated that there was no risk to the evening’s official programme, including the closing ceremony.
“We can manage until tonight without issue,” a festival spokesperson told BFMTV. “There is no concern regarding the remainder of the scheduled events.” Screenings at the Cineum venue, however, were suspended until power could be restored.
By midday, partial restoration efforts had begun, but the majority of affected households remained without electricity. Enedis, the regional electricity distributor, is working alongside RTE to stabilise the network.
The prefecture has urged the public to remain cautious and avoid unnecessary travel, particularly in areas where traffic lights remain non-functional. Emergency services have prioritised assistance for vulnerable individuals affected by lift failures and outages in residential blocks.
Local authorities have not reported any injuries. The incident is being closely monitored by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, though no national emergency measures have been announced.
This is the second major electricity-related disruption to affect the region in recent weeks, following a broader outage on the Iberian Peninsula at the end of April. That event, involving failures in cross-border grid management, led to over €1.6 billion in economic losses for Spain.
Saturday’s outage in Cannes, while more localised, has once again highlighted the vulnerability of regional energy infrastructure and the challenges associated with maintaining stable supply in high-demand areas, particularly during international events.
The investigation into the Biançon substation fire and subsequent pylon collapse remains ongoing. The prefecture is expected to provide further updates as the situation develops.
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