Heavy snowfall and icy conditions have killed at least six people on roads across France and caused major disruptions, with the transport minister admitting the severity of the event was “somewhat underestimated” by national weather services.
Three people died in two separate accidents caused by black ice in southwestern France, while a rideshare driver died after falling into the Marne River near Paris.
The two tragedies come after the deaths on Monday of a van driver in a collision with a truck, also in the Paris region and a motorcyclist in the western region of Brittany.
Snow caused over 1,000 km of traffic jams in the Île-de-France region on Monday evening, a record level, according to the traffic information website Sytadin.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that the scale of the weather event was "somewhat underestimated" by the national weather bureau Météo-France, particularly around the French capital, adding that "the response plan had to be revised."
He nevertheless judged that Monday night had "gone rather well" in the Paris region, where measures had been taken, such as the early sanding of roads, to allow people to return home and avoid "stranded motorists" like in 2018.
A total of 26 departments in western France had been placed under an orange alert for snow and ice by Météo-France. This alert was lifted at 10:00 AM on Tuesday.
Six airports have been closed in the west and north, but no flights have been cancelled at Parisian airports, where some 250 snowploughs were on standby, the Transport ministry said on Tuesday.
An ice rink
"It's like an ice rink," Christophe Canut, a 43-year-old caregiver, told French news agency AFP after being completely stranded since 6:40 a.m. GMT on the a motorway in southwestern France.
Temperatures went down to -3 and -8°C and in some case below -10°C, which caused black ice, the weather service stated.
For Wednesday, a new disturbance is expected to bring "snow and locally freezing rain over a large part of the northern part of the country", according to Météo-France, which said a further increase in the level of vigilance could be issued on Wednesday.
Paris launches winter emergency plan as homeless man dies from cold
School transport was disrupted on Tuesday in several regions, including Brittany, which is unaccustomed to such conditions, and Vendée, where the snowfall was also exceptional.
Traffic restrictions for heavy goods vehicles remain in force in several departments.
The SNCF rail services reported Tuesday morning service disruptions on several lines in western France due to snow, as well as speed restrictions on certain sections of high-speed rail lines (TGV).
It recommended that its customers "postpone their travel as much as possible".
Electricity provider Enedis said around 8,000 homes were still without electricity in the central Pays de la Loire region (mainly in Loire-Atlantique and Vendée) and 5,000 in the Charente-Maritime area.
In Paris, the situation was improving Tuesday morning. Around thirty bus lines were restored after being disrupted on Monday due to snowfall in the capital.
(with newswires)
