Massive Power Cut Hits Cannes and South France

May 24, 2025: Despite a massive power outage affecting Cannes and much of the Alpes-Maritimes region in the South of France, the Cannes Film Festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday evening will go ahead as scheduled, organizers confirmed.

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In a statement, the festival announced:

“The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions.”

The outage, which has left 160,000 households without electricity, was caused by the fall of a major power line, according to France Info radio. The blackout plunged shops, restaurants, and traffic systems across the city into darkness. Many businesses could only accept cash, and internet services—including WhatsApp—were down.

Limited Operations Amid Blackout

While the Palais des Festivals and several major hotels along the Croisette have continued operations using backup generators, screenings at other venues such as the Cineum have been temporarily suspended and will resume once electricity is restored.

Still, the festival is pushing forward. The press conference for Kelly Reichardt’s “Mastermind”, featuring cast members Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal, was held on schedule at 10:15 AM local time, despite the blackout.

“The lights are out across Cannes but at the Palais, the lights are on. It’s business as usual,” reported Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro. “The morning press conference with Kelly Reichardt went on without a hitch.”

However, elsewhere in the city, luxury shops such as Prada were shuttered, and city infrastructure like traffic lights remained non-functional, causing widespread disruptions.

As of now, it remains unclear how long generators will be able to support essential services if power is not restored soon.

The Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film events globally, concludes tonight with the announcement of its top honors, including the Palme d’Or.