Cold snap causes deaths, power cuts and transport chaos

A cold snap in France is sending temperatures as low as -10°C in some areas, causing deaths and major transport disruption. French weather station Météo France has put 15 regions on orange alert and is forecasting a significant amount of snow in Lozère and Auvergne.

Reuters/Vincent Kessler

A homeless person in Val-de-Marne died on Monday, and a 40-year-old homeless woman was found dead in the entrance to a building in Marseille on Saturday.

In central France, A-74-year old woman was seriously injured by a van, which skidded on snow down a slope and into a bus-stop in Blois. Three people escaped but the woman was badly injured and remains in a critical condition.

Paris's mayor has announced the opening of a third gymnasium with a capacity of 90 places in the 19th arrondissement, taking the number of available places to 235 for homeless people. It will be 4°C in Paris on Wednesday.

Traffic monitor Bison Futé advises against travel.

Several regions have been hit by power cuts with the surge in demand. A record electricity consumption is expected this week, causing fears of power cuts Brittany is on red alert, and residents are being advised to limit their consumption.

French electricity manager Réseau de Transport d'Electricité (RTE) predicts national use of 94,200 megawatts on Thursday evening, which would surpass the previous record of 93,080 megawatts set in February. Temperatures on Thursday will be 9.9°C below average for the time of year.

Several records have already been broken; in Orléans on Monday night it dropped to 15.3°C, the coldest since 1943.

Forecasters predict the cold weather will last until the end of the week.

Wednesday transport disruptions

• A fifth of TGV trains between Paris and the southeast will be cancelled
• Lyria (between France and Switzerland), Artesia (between France and Italy) and Province to Province trains will be working normally.
• Trains may go more slowly than usual on some lines.
• The Intercites, which go between provincial towns, will be working as normal, except for two return trips between Paris and Tours and between Paris and Troyes.
• Some TER trains in Rhône-Alpes, Centre and Bourgogne may be cancelled without warning.