STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.

Not Massive

Did massive power outages occur in Paris on July 27, 2024, the day after the Olympics opening ceremony? No, that's not true: The energy company responsible for the power outages said power was restored within 10 minutes and that 85,000 residential clients were affected, while the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11 million. The power cuts were not described as "massive" or "major" by reliable news outlets.

The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on July 28, 2024. It said:

After the blasphemous display at the Olympics yesterday, could it be a sign from God that Paris, the 'City of Lights'went dark with a power outage?

The only building still lit up in Paris is Sacre Cour, a church that sits on the hill overlooking the city.

Did you know this church has hosted 24/7 continuous prayer since 1885!?

The Lord is speaking! God will not be mocked and Jesus Christ will forever be GLORIFIED!

#Bam #BenLim #JesusIsKing

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:

(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Jul 29 17:37:13 2024 UTC)

While power outages did occur, they were not reported as being "major" or "massive" by reputable news outlets, such as actuParis (archived here) and BFMTV (archived here). Power was restored in less than 10 minutes, affecting 85,000 residential clients, across four arrondissements in total. Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, or municipal districts. Its metropolitan area population is 11 million.

The Eiffel Tower was not affected by the power outages, as the photo suggests. It's in the seventh arrondissement, which was not affected, according to Enedis, the responsible power company.

A reverse image search proves that the close-up photo purporting to prove the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre remained lit, is not from July 27, 2024. It is a stock photo taken by Roy Rainford, available on art.com, that was uploaded to Getty Images on October 25, 2016.

Enedis, the company responsible for the electrical grid affected by the power outages, wrote on X (archived here) on July 28, 2024:

Hier soir à 23h30, un incident réseau dû à une anomalie technique a provoqué des coupures d'électricité dans plusieurs arrondissements de Paris. L'ensemble des clients a été rétabli en 10 minutes au maximum. Nous les prions de bien vouloir nous excuser pour la gêne occasionnée

Lead Stories translated this as:

Yesterday evening at 23h30, a network incident due to a technical anomaly caused power cuts in many Paris arrondissements. All customers were restored within 10 minutes maximum. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:

(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Jul 29 ‏‎17:56:56 2024 UTC)

Lead Stories reached out to Enedis by email for comment. This was their initial response:

Last (Saturday) July 27th at 11.40pm, an electrical incident impacted the grid Enedis operates. 85.000 residential clients were impacted between 3 to 10 minutes (in the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th arrondissements of Paris).

This fact check will be updated if we receive additional details from Enedis.

Other Lead Stories fact checks about the 2024 Olympics can be found here.