The blackout lasted for over five hours and was due to a suspected arson attack on a transformer station during the night to Saturday. At the same time, a high-voltage power line along the Mediterranean coast was subjected to sabotage.
When the city became powerless, cinema-goers had to leave the auditoriums as the projectors stopped functioning. Traffic lights went out and tourists and festival visitors were forced to look for cash when the restaurants' card machines went out. According to the French energy company RTE, around 160,000 households were affected.
The film screenings could, however, be resumed thanks to generators and the evening's closing ceremony is not in danger.
