CNN
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A massive blackout across the southern France lost around 160,000 homes on Saturday, affecting the town of Cannes, which now hosts its annual international film festival.
The blackout began around 10am local time (4am ET), France’s Power Transmission Network RTE said in a post on X, adding that the team is working to recover power as quickly as possible.
“We are considering the possibility that a fire could be intentionally launched,” a spokesman for the French National General told Reuters. No arrests have been made in connection with the blackout, the spokesman added.
Saturday is the final day of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and will be held in town for 78 years and the closing ceremony will be held in the evening.
The festival uses generators to ensure that screenings can still go further, French public broadcaster France Island reported.
According to Reuters, the Palais des Festival, where Cannes’ main event will be held, “we’ve now switched to independent power so that all scheduled events and screenings, including the closing ceremony, can go as planned.”
The festival organizers told CNN affiliate BFMTV that they “don’t worry” that the blackout would affect the closing ceremony.
According to BFMTV, the suspension affected two screenings Saturday morning for about five minutes, before reopening, organizers said.
This story has been updated.
