A group described as an extreme anarchist faction has declared that they were behind a power outage that affected 160,000 households in the Côte d’Azur right before the Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony.
Authorities in Grasse and Draguignan, France, are looking into potential sabotage following the publication of a mysterious message by the organization online.
In their unidentified statement, the group admitted, “We intentionally disrupted the primary power substation that serves the Cannes urban area and disabled the 225 kV transmission line connected to Nice.”
They claimed the dramatic blackout was a deliberate attempt to cripple key infrastructure including research centres, start-ups, an aerospace factory, the local airport, and military and technological hubs.
Thousands of homes in the iconic French Riviera were left in darkness from around 10am on Saturday until the blackout was resolved at 4.30pm local time.
The suspected saboteurs wrote they targeted the region “on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony and gala evening” in what appeared to be a political statement, BFM TV reports.
Authorities have yet to verify the authenticity of the claims.
An initial arson attack struck an electrical substation in Tanneron, in the Var region, at around 2.45am on Saturday, weakening the power grid.
Hours later, a high-voltage pylon in Villeneuve-Loubet was discovered sawed through – further destabilising the network and triggering widespread outages.
The Draguignan prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the first attack, while a separate probe has been launched by prosecutors in Grasse into the second.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Côte d’Azur blackout comes just weeks after a massive outage plunged Spain and Portugal into chaos – forcing both nations into a state of emergency.
On April 28, power was wiped out across the Iberian Peninsula, shutting down hospitals, halting trains, and bringing air traffic to a standstill.
Officials blamed the disruption on a “rare atmospheric phenomenon.”
Panic-buying erupted across Spain and Portugal, with shoppers clearing supermarket shelves and queuing for hours outside stores and ATMs.
In the Canary Islands, residents were warned that food supply shipments from the mainland would be disrupted, sparking further chaos.
Hospitals cancelled surgeries, Madrid’s underground network was evacuated, and a major tennis match at the Madrid Open was suspended after a loud “bang” echoed through the venue.
Roads across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France descended into gridlock as lights and signals failed.
Emergency services were scrambled to manage the mayhem and fears of looting after nightfall grew.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez later confirmed that power had been partially restored, but disruption lingered for days – with mobile networks still down in some areas, including Ibiza.
