Two people were killed and 17 others injured as torrential storms swept across France, toppling trees, flooding the streets of Paris, and causing the roof of the National Assembly to spring a leak.
"Have you noticed it's raining?" Prime Minister François Bayrou remarked, glancing up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East, as heavy rain poured outside, quickly flooding Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening.
The assembly's vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate to allow fire crews to assess the damage. When the session resumed about 15 minutes later, Lescure informed lawmakers that absorbent mats had been placed to contain the leak.
According to the French civil defence agency, one person remains in critical condition following the storm, which swept across much of France after a period of intense heat. The agency also reported that approximately 110,000 homes lost power.
French media reported that a 12-year-old child was killed by a falling tree in southwestern France, while a man in the northwest died after his quad bike collided with a fallen tree.
