A power outage hit the glitzy resort on the French Riviera as the Cannes Film Festival was drawing to a close. Officials have said the outage came after a substation and an electricity pylon were vandalized.
A power outage caused traffic lights to fail, leading to traffic jams in CannesImage: Valery Hache/AFP
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A major power outage hit the area around the French Riviera resort of Cannes on Saturday, the final day of the Cannes Film Festival.
The power cut began just after 10:00 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. GMT) due to a fire that broke out overnight in a substation in the nearby village of Tanneron. The fire has since been extinguished.
Cannes mayor David Lisnard had said officials believe it was "targeted in a criminal act."
In Villeneuve–Louet, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of Cannes, three pillars of an electricity pylon holding up a high-voltage power line were cut, prosecutors from the Alpes-Maritimes department said.
"The Prosecutor's Office of Alpes-Maritimes condemns in the strongest possible terms these acts against the integrity of our infrastructures," a statement said.
Power gradually returning
It added that power supplies were being "progressively" restored.
According to grid operator RTE, the power outage affected 160,000 homes in Cannes and the surrounding area.
The outage caused traffic lights to fail and led to traffic jams in the glitzy holiday resort. Shops were closed on one of the main streets.
Teams from RTE and supplier Enedis were working to restore the network.
A blackout caused the timetable screens at Cannes train station to go offlineImage: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP
Festival is not affected by outage
The Cannes Film Festival organizers said the closing ceremony would not be affected by the power outage.
The festival announced it had "switched to an alternative electricity power supply, which enables us to maintain the events and screenings planned for today in normal conditions, including the closing ceremony."
However, morning screenings at the festival's cinemas were briefly interrupted while the supply switched to generators.
At the closing ceremony, scheduled to start at 16:40 GMT, French actress Juliette Binoche and her jury will announce the winners of the festival's top prizes. Twenty-two films are competing for the Palme d'Or this year.
Cannes rolls out the red carpet
The Cannes Film Festival has kicked off for the 78th time. Once again, the international film world is gathered on the French Riviera for one of the most prestigious events in the industry.
Image: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP/picture alliance
Hollywood giants conquer red carpet
The red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival is once again welcoming the most famous stars of the silver screen. Many Hollywood celebrities are present, including Robert De Niro, Quentin Tarantino, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence.
Image: Antonin Thuillier/AFP
Who's on the jury?
The jury, which will select the winner of this year's Palme d'Or top prize, also posed on the red carpet at the opening ceremony. French actress Juliette Binoche (center) is this year's president. Other members include actors Halle Berry, Alba Rohrwacher, and Jeremy Strong, director-writers Payal Kapadia, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sang-soo and Carlos Reygadas, and writer Leila Slimani.
The central venue of the festival, which runs until May 24, is the Palais des Festivals et des Congres on the Croisette. Major premieres will be screening here over the next 12 days, including Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning", Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" and Ari Aster's "Eddington."
Image: Lewis Joly/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
Surprising start
An amusing highlight on Tuesday evening was a surprising short appearance by star director Quentin Tarantino, who grandly declared the festival open before dramatically smashing his microphone on the floor. Some of his opening words were in French, and earned the director rapturous applause.
Image: David Niviere/ABACAPRESS.COM/picture alliance
Robert De Niro receives honorary Palme d'Or
Acting legend Robert De Niro was awarded an honorary Palme d'Or for his life's work. The special award, which was announced weeks ago, was presented by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio, who said De Niro had changed his life. He called the 81-year-old an actor admired by generations.
Image: Marechal Aurore/ABACAPRESS/IMAGO
More visibility and equality
In addition to jury president Binoche, other prominent women such as Halle Berry and Leila Slimani are also part of this year's jury, sending a strong signal in the context of the ongoing #MeToo debate. The conviction of French actor Gerard Depardieu, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021, was announced on the same day as the opening ceremony.
Celebrities from outside the film world are also drawn to the yearly festival. German model Heidi Klum caused a stir with her ruffled pink dress — especially considering the festival recently banned "voluminous" outfits on the red carpet, saying they would "hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater."
