"Strikedzilla” threatens Cannes Festival with power cut

The French energy workers union’s crusade against the pension reform is only heating up

The only lights at this year’s Cannes Film Festival might be the flashes of cameras on the red carpet after a major worker strike has put under question the electricity supply to the event.

French President Emmanuel Macron might have already signed the decree raising the retirement age in France by 2 years despite widespread protests in recent weeks, but that doesn’t mean that resistance has subsided. FNME-CGT, the country’s trade union of energy workers, in fact, has declared “100 days of action and anger”, meaning that it threatens power cuts as a way to force the government to reverse its decision.

The power cuts, which would be the result of massive strike action, or “Strikedzilla” (Grevilla in French), could affect some of France’s major upcoming events, among them the Cannes Film Festival, set to take place 16-27 May.

Roland Garros also in danger of staying in the dark

The threat of darkness is in the air. And the unusual strike action shows that the unions are getting creative in their goals by targeting some of France’s most globally significant cultural events, as a way to show that they mean business.

The 100-day strike horizon, which basically means the next three months, could also potentially affect other events, such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, the Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris and the Festival d’Avignon.

The trade unions are not backing up and in response to the French President’s 100-day appeasement appeal, they have issued a “100-days of anger” with the promise of “energy disturbances” to accompany Macron’s trips.

In fact, they’ve already made good on these when CGT claimed two power cuts at Montpellier airport and in a college in Hérault, during a trip by Emmanuel Macron last Thursday.