Suspected sabotage disrupts final day of Cannes Film Festival
Several screenings were interrupted by the cut in the morning, before festival organisers were able to switch to private generators.
Image: Supplied
The serene glamour of the Cannes Film Festival was jolted into chaos on Saturday as a suspected act of sabotage caused widespread power outages across the city, disrupting the highly anticipated final day of the prestigious event, several international online media houses have reported.
Early in the morning, around 160,000 households in Cannes and neighbouring areas found themselves plunged into darkness when arsonists targeted an electricity substation in the village of Tanneron, leading to an initial power cut.
This was compounded shortly after 08:00 GMT when the legs of an electricity pylon near Villeneuve-Loubet were intentionally severed, prompting a second outage.
Despite the turmoil, festival organisers confirmed that the closing ceremony would proceed as planned, thanks to the swift deployment of alternative power supplies, including private generators. This decision came as a relief, allowing the final day of screenings to continue following a series of interruptions caused by the outages.
The situation left many local businesses reeling. Restaurants and shops struggled to operate under the sudden loss of electricity.
Laurent Aboukrat, the owner of Jamin restaurant, voiced his frustration, stating, "Another hour and I'll throw everything away," as his fridges remained unpowered, threatening to spoil valuable stock.
Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic described the atmosphere in Cannes, saying, "Cannes is in a total slowdown, meltdown—there's no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants, so this is like crisis territory."
As locals and festivalgoers grappled with the fallout, officials launched an investigation into the sabotage.
The act not only interrupted the glamour of the festival but also raised serious questions about security in a city renowned for hosting one of the film industry's most prestigious events.
French actress Juliette Binoche and her jury, however, announced the coveted Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honour, maintaining a semblance of normalcy amidst the outer chaos.
French actor and master of ceremony Laurent Lafitte (L) gestures on stage as Iranian director and screenwriter and producer Jafar Panahi (C) poses on stage with Australian actress Cate Blanchett (center L) and French actress and president of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Juliette Binoche after winning the Palme d'Or for the film "Un simple accident" (A Simple Accident) during the closing ceremony at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2025.
Image: Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP
The winners were:
- Palme d'Or: Jafar Panahi for "It Was Just an Accident" (Iran)
- Grand Prix: Joachim Trier for "Sentimental Value" (Norway)
- Jury prize: Oliver Laxe for "Sirat" (Spain-France) and Mascha Schilinski for "Sound of Falling" (Germany)
- Best director: Kleber Mendonca Filho for "The Secret Agent" (Brazil)
- Best actress: Nadia Melliti for "The Little Sister" (France)
- Best actor: Wagner Moura for "The Secret Agent" (Brazil)
- Special prize: Bi Gan for "Resurrection" (China)
- Best screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for "Young Mothers" (Belgium)
- Camera d'Or for best first film: Hasan Hadi for "The President's Cake" (Iraq). Special mention for "My Father's Shadow" by Akinola Davies (Nigeria-Britain)
- Best short film: Tawfeek Barhom for "I Am Glad You're Dead Now" (Palestine-Greece-France)