Southern France power outage disrupts public transport in Cannes

Police in southern France are investigating the possibility of "organized arson" after blackouts on Saturday and Sunday, in Cannes and Nice, respectively, disrupted daily life and critical infrastructure.

On Saturday, a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes caused a blackout affecting approximately 160,000 households.

The outage coincided with the closing day of the Cannes Film Festival, though the event at the main venue ended seamlessly using backup generators. Also, in the early hours of Sunday, a second incident occurred in Nice, where damage to an electrical facility left around 45,000 homes without power.

An anonymous group claiming to be anarchists posted a statement online, claiming responsibility for the Cannes outage, asserting they had sabotaged key electrical infrastructure.

Authorities have not verified this claim but have launched criminal investigations into both incidents.

Nice's mayor condemned the attacks and has ordered an increase in police protection for sensitive electrical installations.