In France, Nice has power outages after Cannes, arson suspected
A fire broke out at an electrical transformer in Nice on the night of May 25, causing a massive power outage in the region. This is the second major power outage in the country in a row, after a massive power outage in Cannes on May 24. Police suspect arson, Le Figaro reports .
In Nice, a fire broke out at around 02:00 local time (03:00 Kyiv time) at an electrical substation located in the Moulins district in the west of the city.
The fire caused power outages in 45,000 homes in Nice, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-du-Var, as well as Nice Airport. The tram network was also affected.
According to the city prosecutor Damian Martinelli, the police have launched an investigation into the fact of "destruction due to arson committed by an organized gang."
"Technical inspections and examinations are ongoing, in particular to determine the damage and the methods used to carry out the action," he said.
According to the publication's interlocutor, close to the investigation, the police found signs of a break-in on the transformer door, as well as tire tracks near the object.
Power was restored around 05:30 (06:30 Kyiv time), and public transport resumed operations an hour later than usual.
The authorities of Nice have taken other energy facilities in the city under protection.
As the publication notes, the fire in Nice occurred the day after two electrical installations were deliberately damaged in another area of France: a high-voltage substation was set on fire in the Var region and a cut pylon was cut in the Alpes-Maritimes region.
This accident caused a power outage for several hours in about 160,000 homes in the south of the country, including Cannes.
The Cannes Film Festival, which was in progress at the time, was forced to suspend film screenings.
Currently, according to the publication's interlocutor, investigators do not confirm a connection between the events in Cannes and Nice.
- At the end of April , Spain experienced its largest blackout in history . It left almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, without power. The exact technical root cause is still being investigated by European grid regulators.
