On what was meant to be a day of cinematic celebration and glittering glamour, Cannes woke up to an unsettling surprise—darkness. On the morning of May 24, 2025, as the city prepared to host the closing day of its iconic Cannes Film Festival, a massive and mysterious power outage swept through the Alpes-Maritimes region. Roughly 160,000 households were left without electricity, with key cities like Cannes and Antibes among the hardest hit.
While initially presumed to be a routine technical failure, the true cause of the blackout soon emerged as something far more sinister: sabotage.
A City Brought to a Standstill
The power outage began around 10:00 a.m., creating an immediate ripple effect across the region. Traffic lights went dark, plunging busy intersections into chaos. Supermarkets, bakeries, and restaurants were forced to shutter their doors or work without their usual tools—some owners resorted to notepads and mental math as digital payment systems failed. In residential buildings and hotels, elevators were immobilized, briefly trapping some occupants until backup systems or manual efforts intervened.
Public transport, too, bore the brunt. Rail services experienced delays and cancellations, and the city’s bus system had to reroute or halt entirely in areas where electricity-dependent signals and operations failed.
For tourists and locals alike, the morning felt like a surreal twist in a dystopian film. For Cannes, a city that lives and breathes showbiz this time of year, the blackout was not just an inconvenience—it was symbolic disruption, a jarring interruption of the very essence of the Festival’s magic.
Festival Interrupted—But Not Derailed
Even the film screenings weren’t immune. Mid-morning showings were abruptly paused across several venues, including a particularly dramatic moment during a thriller screening where the audience thought the lights going out was part of the cinematic experience. It wasn’t.
Despite the chaos outside, the heart of the festival—the Palais des Festivals—remained operational. Organizers had anticipated potential infrastructure issues and equipped the venue with independent power generators, a decision that turned out to be prescient. Thanks to these precautions, the much-anticipated closing ceremony went ahead as scheduled that evening.
Iranian director Jafar Panahi took home the prestigious Palme d’Or for his poignant film It Was Just an Accident. The crowd, though slightly wearied by the day’s disruptions, celebrated his win with characteristic enthusiasm, grateful that the spirit of cinema had triumphed over chaos.
The Investigation: A Deliberate Act of Sabotage
Shortly after power started returning to the grid—first in parts of Cannes by mid-afternoon, then gradually across the department—attention turned to what had caused such an extensive failure. Initial technical inspections quickly ruled out accidental causes. What investigators found was chilling: a fire had broken out at a high-voltage substation in Tanneron (Var), and even more disturbingly, three supporting legs of a key power transmission pylon in Villeneuve-Loubet had been sawed off.
This wasn’t a random malfunction. It was a calculated act of sabotage.
By the afternoon, French prosecutors confirmed that they had launched a formal investigation into what they called a “criminal act targeting vital national infrastructure.” The Research Brigade of Draguignan was dispatched, and forensic teams combed through the site, documenting evidence and collecting samples.
Then came a bombshell revelation.
Anarchist Groups Claim Responsibility
An anonymous statement published on a fringe ultra-left website claimed responsibility for the sabotage. Purportedly written by members of two anarchist collectives, the communiqué detailed how they had coordinated the attacks on the substation and the pylon. They also hinted at additional planned actions, citing infrastructure targets including research labs and airports.
Though authorities have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the claim, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism units are now involved in tracing its origins. The potential that these attacks were part of a broader campaign of ideological violence has added a deeply troubling dimension to the investigation.
Grasse and Draguignan prosecutors are collaborating closely with the Ministry of the Interior and national security agencies to identify the perpetrators and assess the risk of future incidents.
Political and Public Response
The reaction was swift and unequivocal. Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, called the attack “an outrageous assault on public safety and national infrastructure.” He urged the government to step up surveillance around vital installations and reinforce protections for the energy grid.
“The timing and scale of this act,” Estrosi said during a televised address, “demonstrates not just criminal intent but an alarming willingness to endanger lives and disrupt essential services. This must be met with the full force of the law.”
Residents, too, expressed a mix of fear and defiance. “I’ve lived here all my life,” said Colette Dupuis, a retired schoolteacher from Antibes. “We’ve had storms and blackouts before, but never something like this. The idea that someone could just cut our power on purpose? It’s terrifying.”
Adapting in the Face of Disruption
And yet, amid the disruption, there were glimpses of resilience and humanity. Streets across Cannes filled with people—some simply seeking fresh air from stifling apartment blocks, others curious to understand what had happened.
One story captured the moment’s surreal charm: Manola, a hairdresser at the Biguine salon on Rue des Belges, refused to let the blackout ruin her day—or her appointments. She wheeled a chair outside, positioned her client in the morning sun, and continued with the haircut using battery-powered clippers. “We still have hands, we still have sunlight,” she laughed. “It’s Cannes—we adapt!”
Restaurants opened their terraces and served whatever they could still cook with gas stoves. Locals helped elderly neighbors navigate stairs in buildings where elevators were down. And all the while, the buzz of generators and hum of shared conversation filled the silence where electric life once pulsed.
A Broader Wake-Up Call
While power was largely restored by late Saturday, the incident has left behind more than just disrupted plans—it has sparked a national conversation. How vulnerable is France’s energy infrastructure? Are other critical systems—like water, healthcare, and telecommunications—sufficiently protected against acts of sabotage or cyberattacks?
In the context of ongoing global tensions, domestic unrest, and the increasing capabilities of extremist groups, many experts warn that this kind of threat may not remain isolated.
“The symbolic power of attacking something like the Cannes Festival cannot be underestimated,” said Léa Bourdon, a Paris-based political analyst. “It sends a message, intended or not, that even in a place as seemingly untouchable as Cannes, we are not immune to disruption.”
Lights Back On—But Shadows Remain
As Sunday dawned and normalcy returned to most of the Alpes-Maritimes, the events of the day before lingered in people’s minds. The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival may have ended in celebration, but it will likely be remembered just as much for the power outage that plunged one of the world’s most glamorous events into a moment of very real vulnerability.
The curtain has closed on this year’s cinematic showcase, but the spotlight has shifted—from the red carpet to the dark corners of critical infrastructure security.
One thing is certain: France will have to re-evaluate its readiness for such threats. And as Cannes proved on May 24, resilience is not just a festival theme—it’s a necessity.