Two anarchist groups claim responsibility for Cannes and Nice power outages

Nearly 45,000 homes were temporarily without electricity on Saturday night after a fire was started at an electrical transformer in western Nice.

Two anarchist groups in France have claimed responsibility for a power outage that left more than 160,000 homes without power in the south of the country.

The blackout affected the city of Nice and the Cannes Film Festival as well as knocking out power to vital services like traffic lights and cash machines.

Local officials said they suspected the outage was caused by an arson attack and two self-styled “bands of anarchists” said they were behind the attack.

UK media said the groups had published an anonymous letter on Sunday in which they reportedly wrote: “The aim of the action was not only to disrupt the festival, but also to deprive all industrial establishments of electricity.”

Read more: Euronews