CANNES – Southeastern France experienced a significant power outage on Saturday, which affected transportation and momentarily interrupted the Cannes Film Festival as it was gearing up for its top award ceremony.

Approximately 160,000 homes in the Alpes-Maritimes area were left without power when a high-voltage line collapsed on Saturday morning, according to the electricity network operator RTE, who reported the incident on X. This disruption occurred just hours after a fire broke out at an electrical substation close to Cannes overnight, further straining the power grid.

Organizers of the Cannes Film Festival acknowledged that the outage impacted the early morning activities on Saturday. They mentioned that the Palais des Festivals, the primary venue on the Croisette, had shifted to using a separate power source.

“All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” the statement said. “At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway.”

Still, screenings at the Cineum, one of the festival’s satellite venues, were briefly suspended, the festival added.

Traffic lights in parts of Cannes and the surrounding city of Antibes stopped working after 10 a.m., leading to traffic jams and confusion in city centers. Most shops along the Croisette remained closed, and local food kiosks were only accepting cash. Train service in Cannes was also disrupted.

Authorities said restoration efforts were ongoing and urged residents to remain cautious during travel.

___

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.