A wave of disruptions has hit the French Riviera as a second power outage in just two days sparked fears of sabotage. A fire at a substation in Nice, reported to be malicious, impacted around 45,000 residences early on Sunday morning, mere hours after the neighboring city of Cannes experienced a substantial blackout attributed to potential sabotage.
The blaze at the Nice substation ignited around 2:00 AM local time, resulting in power disruptions that affected local transport services, including Nice Airport and the tramway networks, as well as neighboring towns like Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer. Power was restored later in the day, alleviating immediate concerns.
Investigators noted that "tyre tracks" were discovered at the scene, along with a forced entry into the substation, leading authorities to suspect criminal involvement. Nice's mayor, Christian Estrosi, expressed his condemnation of these "malicious acts" on social media platform X, while deputy mayor Gaël Nofri hinted at the possibility of "criminal origin" for the fire.
This incident follows closely behind a significant power cut in Cannes during the city’s international film festival, which affected around 160,000 households. That blackout was suspected to be linked to an arson attack on another electrical substation. Many festival screenings faced interruptions until organizers transitioned to private generators.
At this stage, no definitive connection between the two incidents has been established, but city officials have announced plans to increase security measures around electric facilities in Nice. An investigation focusing on "organized arson" is ongoing, with Nice's prosecutor Damien Martinelli emphasizing the need to determine the extent of the damage and specifics surrounding the acts of vandalism.
