2 blackouts in 2 days; Who's sabotaging France's electric grid?
What's the story
Southeastern France was rocked by two major power outages in quick succession over the weekend. The first blackout hit Cannes on Saturday, coinciding with the last day of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. The second outage struck Nice on Sunday at around 2:00am, affecting around 45,000 homes. Investigations into both incidents point to potential sabotage and arson at key electrical infrastructure.
Cannes incident
Cannes blackout disrupts film festival, damages infrastructure
The first blackout in Cannes was triggered by a fire at an electrical substation in Tanneron. This fire left around 160,000 homes without power and damaged critical infrastructure. Emergency services managed to control the blaze, but not before it caused major disruptions. Technicians later discovered a dangerously unstable electricity pylon in Villeneuve-Louet, further complicating the situation and necessitating another shutdown of the power supply.
Festival response
Cannes Film Festival adapts to blackout, Nice mayor condemns sabotage
Despite the power outage, the Cannes Film Festival managed to continue with its events using backup generators. However, some screenings were briefly interrupted due to the blackout. In Nice, around 45,000 homes were affected by a separate blackout caused by an electrical transformer fire. The city's tram system was halted, and Nice's Côte d'Azur Airport experienced a temporary power cut during this incident.
Claim of responsibility
Anarchist group claims responsibility for power outages
An anarchist group claimed responsibility for the attacks on electrical installations in southeastern France. However, authorities have not confirmed the authenticity of this claim, and investigations are still ongoing. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, condemned these "malicious acts" and announced increased security around key infrastructure sites. He also said that surveillance camera images would be made available to investigators as part of their efforts to identify those responsible.
Broader trend
Recent European power outages raise security concerns
These incidents in France come amid a spate of similar power outages across Europe. In April 2025, Spain and Portugal were hit by a massive blackout that lasted around 10 hours and resulted in at least eight deaths. Although Spain's National Cybersecurity Institute initially suspected a cyberattack, it later attributed the blackout to a grid disconnection. European officials have expressed concerns over rising acts of sabotage allegedly carried out by criminal groups working for foreign powers.