NICE – Another significant power outage struck southeastern France early Sunday, this time affecting the city of Nice, after an electrical facility was suspected to have been set on fire.
Police have yet to find any connection between the blackout impacting parts of Nice and nearby cities Cagnes-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-du-Var, and a separate outage on Saturday that affected Cannes on the final day of its famous film festival.
The power loss in Nice began around 2 a.m., leaving approximately 45,000 homes without electricity. The city’s trams halted operations, and the Nice Côte d’Azur airport temporarily lost power during its overnight closure.
Power was fully restored by 5:30 a.m., according to the energy provider company Enedis.
The Nice public prosecutor said a criminal investigation has been opened for “organized arson.”
On Saturday, two other installations in the Alpes Maritime department were damaged in what officials also suspected to be arson, temporarily cutting power to 160,000 homes, including events at the Cannes Film Festival.
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi condemned Sunday’s attack and said the city had filed a complaint.
“I strongly denounce these malicious acts targeting our country,” he said on X. He ordered all sensitive electrical infrastructure in the city to be placed under police protection.
“These actions can have serious consequences, particularly on hospitals,” Estrosi said at a press briefing on Sunday. “As long as the perpetrators haven’t been caught, we will remain on high alert.”
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