Massive power outage disrupts Cannes Film Festival

A power cut in south-eastern France has temporarily disrupted screenings on the final day of the Cannes Film Festival.

About 160,000 homes in the city of Cannes and surrounding municipalities lost power on Saturday, France’s electricity operator RTE said.

Police are investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause of the incident.

Organisers of the international film festival say the closing ceremony will go ahead as planned as they have an alternative power supply.

The power cut affected 160,000 homes in the Alpes-Maritimes area. Supply was restored by 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT) , according to RTE.

In Cannes, shops and restaurants struggled to operate during the cut.

“Another hour and I’ll throw everything away,” Laurent Aboukrat, who owns Canne’s Jamin restaurant, told AFP news agency. He said his fridges had been off since the morning

“Cannes is in a total slowdown, meltdown, there’s no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants, so this is like crisis territory,” Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic told Reuters news agency.

Police are investigating a possible arson attack of a power substation. “We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,” a spokesperson for the gendarmerie told Reuters.

Saturday is the last day of the Cannes Film Festival. French actress Juliette Binoche and her jury are set to announce the winner of the Palme d’Or – the highest prize awarded at the festival.

Several screenings were interrupted by the cut in the morning, before organisers were able to switch to private generators.