A power blackout affecting 45,000 people in Nice, France, has sparked an investigation into possible sabotage, just days after a similar outage disrupted the Cannes film festival. The incident, which involved a fire at an electrical transformer, was quickly extinguished and power restored. Authorities have denied any link between the two events, but right-wing MEP Éric Ciotti described the incidents as terrorist acts.
Laurent Hottiaux, prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes region, warned that there were “certain elements” not a coincidence, but declined to comment further due to an ongoing investigation. The incident comes amid concerns over sabotage and terrorism in Europe, with many attributing recent power outages to foreign powers such as Russia.
The French government has taken steps to increase security at key sites, including the installation of more surveillance cameras. Authorities have also promised to make images from these cameras available to investigators. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities responded harshly to comments made by France’s foreign minister over a dissident filmmaker’s award-winning film.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/25/french-authorities-investigate-power-blackout-blamed-on-sabotage