France plans nationwide blackout simulation for second half of 2027

France is preparing a large-scale simulation to test how it would cope with a sudden, nationwide power outage, with officials targeting the second half of 2027 for the exercise. The planned drill will bring together grid operators, government ministries and the military to measure how quickly power can be restored and whether essential services can be kept running.

Operators Enedis and RTE are set to take part, alongside several French ministries and the country's military administration, according to people with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity. The exercise was formally confirmed at an interministerial committee on national resilience on 8 July, with a fuller announcement expected before the end of the year.

Organisers say the simulation will explore scenarios such as the widespread blackout that hit Spain and Portugal in April 2025, or a major cyber-attack on the power system like the one Poland experienced last year — an act of sabotage that Brussels attributed to Russian intelligence services. "The simulation will test the country's ability to respond," said a person familiar with the preparations, adding that the aim is to assess how long restoration would take and the state's capacity to maintain continuity of core services.

Why the drill now

Concern about crisis readiness has moved up the political agenda in France after record heat and a string of wildfires forced authorities to re-evaluate emergency response capabilities. The government updated its national resilience strategy last summer — a roadmap for maintaining functions deemed essential in cases of war or major natural disasters — and officials say the new simulation is a next step.

Notes from the 8 July meeting list material priorities the state must retain access to in a crisis: blankets for emergencies, generators, medicines, telecommunications equipment, law enforcement equipment, as well as rare and critical raw materials. The exercise will test not only technical restoration of power but distribution and safeguarding of those resources.

The recent heatwaves pushed many regions to unprecedented temperatures, with June setting multiple records. In the southwest, uncontrolled wildfires driven by extreme heat and drought forced mass evacuations affecting more than 200,000 people. In Paris, the mayor appealed to major supermarket chains to mobilise ice reserves amid fears emergency services might run short of ice for treating heatstroke victims.

Opposition parties have criticised the government for what they describe as a broader lack of preparedness. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the executive will table a bill in parliament to bolster emergency response systems.

Photo: press material from the event