Overview

• A deliberate act of sabotage caused a major blackout in Cannes on May 24, disrupting the Cannes Film Festival and impacting 160,000 households.
• Another act of sabotage targeted an electrical substation in Nice on May 25, leaving 45,000 households temporarily without power.
• The Palais des Festivals in Cannes maintained operations during the blackout due to its independent power supply, allowing the closing ceremony to proceed as planned.
• French authorities have launched investigations into both incidents, describing them as deliberate acts and pursuing charges of organized arson.
• A group of anarchists has claimed responsibility for the sabotage, while officials explore possible links to similar blackouts in Spain and Portugal weeks earlier.