Many roads turned into an ice rink this Friday morning over a large part of the country, while 31 departments are still placed by Météo France on snow orange vigilanceice and wind. Thursday's snow and the drop in temperatures made the roads very slippery. As a preventive measure, several departments in the northern part of France have suspended school transport all or part of the day. The Normandy Region has also decided not to run any trains this morning.
The essentials
- At 7 a.m., 200,000 homes were still without electricity
- Several thousand heavy goods vehicles are blocked on the A36 and A28 motorways
- Train traffic is still disrupted
- School transport is suspended in several departments
200,000 homes still without power
This Friday morning at 7 a.m., 200,000 homes were still without electricity, compared to 270,000 at the height of the event, Enedis indicates in its latest update. The most affected regions are Normandy (69,000), Loire" rel="tag">Pays de la Loire (37,000) Center Val de Loire (22,000).
The objective is to replenish “90% of its customers in 48 hours, i.e. Saturday evening and the rest Sunday evening”, according to Enedis. “The wind plus snow climatic episode is ending but the snow is still present this morning, which makes interventions difficult“. 2,600 technicians are mobilized “and will begin repairs this morning because last night the travel safety conditions were not met”, explains Enedis, with winds blowing between 110 and 130 km/hour.
Five seriously injured in pileup
Five injured people were hospitalized in “absolute emergency” after a pileup on the A6b near Chevilly-Larue in Val-de-Marne, Thursday evening around 11:20 p.m., according to the prefecture. He involved a coach from the BlablaCar company, four cars and a motorcyclespecify the Paris firefighters.
Thousands of heavy goods vehicles stranded
In total this Friday morning, approximately 1,750 heavy goods vehicles are blocked on the A36 (Doubs) and A28 (Normandy) motorways, trapped by snow and ice, indicates the Minister of Transport. “Heavy goods vehicles unfortunately did not respect the traffic ban.”deplores François Durovray.
Of the hundreds of motorists got stuck on the A36 all night, with freezing temperatures (-5°C in the early morning). This Friday morning, “750 heavy goods vehicles” are always “parked on the A36” according to the minister. Overall, traffic is disrupted throughout Franche-Comté.
Lionel VADAM
In Normandy, “around 1,000 heavy goods vehicles are stored on the A28”because of“a truck which did not respect the prohibition measures and jackknifed” on the highway, says the minister.
In the Loiret, traffic is cut off on the A10 motorwayin the Paris-Bordeaux direction, “due to the presence of black ice near Orléans”indicates Bison Futé. In the other direction, towards Paris, the same highway was briefly cut due to an accident involving two heavy goods vehicles. Traffic reopened around 8 a.m. Several heavy goods vehicles are in difficulty in the sector. In Gold Coaston the A31, a heavy goods vehicle in difficulty creates a traffic jam in the direction of Nancy.
In Ile-de-Francerestrictions concern the N118 and the N20 prohibited for heavy goods vehicles until 12 p.m. Traffic ban for heavy goods vehicles also in Doubs, Haut-Rhin, the Bas-Rhin, et in Mayenne, where traffic difficulties are observed in the north of the department.
Very disrupted train traffic
The Caetano storm “still disrupts rail traffic, mainly in Normandy, Pays de Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine and Ile-de-France due to numerous tree falls”announced the SNCF in a press release this Friday morning.
In Normandy, no trains are running this Friday until noon “time to pass the reconnaissance trains and carry out clearances and repairs“, indicated the SNCF. “A train was blocked yesterday between Lisieux and Paris, another in Argentan last night with 200 passengers who were transferred to gymnasiums”, the Minister of Transport said this Friday.
In the Pays de la Loiretraffic was able to resume in the evening on Thursday on the Nantes/Angers lines. They gradually resume this Friday morning on the Nantes/Saint-Nazaire and Nantes/Clisson lines. On the other hand, “traffic is still interrupted this Friday morning in Nantes/Saint-Gilles, Nantes/Pornic, Saint-Nazaire/Le Croisic, Clisson/La Roche-sur-Yon/Les Sables d’Olonne and Nantes/Châteaubriant”. A return to normal is expected at the end of the day, specifies the SNCF.
In New Aquitainetraffic was interrupted Thursday on certain lines and “reconnaissance continues this Friday morning for a gradual resumption until noon” taking into account the falling trees on the tracks.
In Ile-de-France, there remain disturbances on “line P of the Transilien between Tournan and Coulommiers, L2 and U due to trees on the tracks”. Delays of 15 to 30 minutes were also noted upon arrival from Lyon station.
In the Bas-RhinSNCF traffic is disrupted between Strasbourg and Basel with delays of 60 to 120 minutes and cancellations to be expected, according to the SNCF.
School buses suspended in several departments
School transport was interrupted in several departments. They are also stationary for the whole day in the Haut-Rhin, Sarthe, Yvelines, Seine-et-Marne, Essonne and Val-d'Oise. This will also be the case until noon in Mayennein the five Normandy departmentsin Côte-d’Or, In Yonne, in the Loiret, or even in the Vosges.
In Loir-et-Cher and Eure-et-Loirall buses are stopped, including regular lines. In the Oisecertain local and school lines are suspended, and connections with Picardy are also disrupted.
Events canceled, monuments closed
Due to the weather, monuments are closed, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It will remain closed until 1 p.m. “The show is exceptional from my 2nd floor thanks to the #snow. Unfortunately, this weather does not allow me to welcome visitors“, was written this Thursday evening on the monument's X account.
In Picardythe Oise and Somme football districts have announced that the matches planned for this weekend have been postponed due to weather conditions.
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