A record-breaking heatwave sweeping across Europe has caused a major power outage in northwestern France, leaving around 68,000 households without electricity. Authorities said it was the country’s first large-scale power disruption in recent times linked to the ongoing extreme heat. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Tuesday near Ergué-Gabéric in the Brittany region’s Quimper area, when a transformer fault disrupted the power transmission system. No casualties were reported.

According to the Finistère department administration, the malfunction was related to unusually high temperatures. Power transmission and distribution companies RTE and Enedis worked overnight to restore supply, but full service was expected only by the end of Wednesday. At the peak of the outage, about 106,000 customers across France were without power as the country faced one of its hottest days of the year.

Finistère is among 58 French departments under a maximum “red alert” for extreme heat. Meteorological forecasts warned that temperatures could reach 39 to 41 degrees Celsius from Brittany to the Paris region, with experts linking the persistent heat to atmospheric conditions and global warming.