By Euronews
Published on •Updated
Two anarchist groups in France have claimed responsibility for a power outage that left more than 160,000 homes without power in the south of the country.
The blackout affected the city of Nice and the Cannes Film Festival as well as knocking out power to vital services like traffic lights and cash machines.
Local officials said they suspected the outage was caused by an arson attack and two self-styled “bands of anarchists” said they were behind the attack.
UK media said the groups had published an anonymous letter on Sunday in which they reportedly wrote: “The aim of the action was not only to disrupt the festival, but also to deprive all industrial establishments of electricity.”
But the groups didn’t explain why they wanted to target the festival or industrial sites.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, a fire broke out at an electrical transformer in the Moulins district in the west of Nice.
Mayor Christian Estrosi said the fire had been deliberately started and that he “strongly condemned these malicious acts that affect our country” in a post on X.
He added that the city would be strengthening its security around electrical sites in the coming days and that a formal complaint would be filed following the incident.
Power was restored around 6 am on Sunday. The neighbouring towns of Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer were also affected by the blackout.
The incident follows a blackout that struck Cannes and the surrounding region the previous day, affecting nearly 160,000 homes.
A high-voltage substation was set on fire in the Var department, and a power pylon was sawn down in the Alpes-Maritimes.
Despite the disruption, the Cannes Film Festival proceeded as planned on its final day, thanks to its independent power supply. Electricity was restored to the region by late afternoon.
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