Cannes woke up in darkness on Saturday when a sweeping power failure struck the Riviera city and neighbouring communes just hours before the 78th festival’s prize-giving ceremony, cutting electricity on the famed Croisette and far beyond.
Grid operator RTE said roughly 160,000 households were left without supply soon after 10 a.m. local time. The outage followed a 2:45 a.m. fire at a distribution substation that weakened the network and a mid-morning collapse of a high-voltage pylon near Lake Saint-Cassien, events that officials linked to separate incidents on the same line. Forensic teams were dispatched after local media reported signs of deliberate damage at both sites, an angle now being examined by the gendarmerie.
Inside the Palais des Festivals, generators engaged within minutes; organisers confirmed the closing gala would proceed at 6:40 p.m. in the Grand Théâtre Lumière. “The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed under normal conditions,” the festival said in a mid-day statement.
Screenings in the main hall resumed after pauses of less than ten minutes, though the off-site Cineum complex suspended shows until the grid stabilises. Actor Josh O’Connor cancelled afternoon promotional appearances, citing logistical snags created by the blackout.
Beyond the red carpet, the outage brought everyday disruption. Traffic lights failed, shops reverted to cash sales, and rail operator SNCF warned of delays between Grasse and Antibes while keeping services running. Luxury hotels and the press centre kept lifts and kitchens working on diesel backups, but visitors queued for printed train timetables after electronic boards went dark. Pavement crowds traded updates over patchy mobile data as the sunshine contrasted with powerless storefronts.
RTE said repair crews were “mobilised to restore supply as soon as possible,” projecting incremental returns through the afternoon while cautioning that full service might slip into evening. City officials prepared additional temporary lighting around the Palais in case street power remained down when celebrities arrive for the Palme d’Or reveal, ensuring Cannes’ final red-carpet moment is illuminated—if necessary—by generators rather than the Côte d’Azur grid.