“Since 8:45 p.m., I haven’t moved an inch.” More than ten hours later, Thomas still hasn't made any progress. This 19-year-old motorist is stuck on the A36 motorway, towards Paris, “at Voujeaucourt”, near Montbéliard (Doubs), he confided to Le Parisien, this Friday morning. Like hundreds of motorists, Thomas spent the night in his car due to winter storm Caetano, which brought heavy snowfall.
The young man, who was going to his uncle's house in the evening, was “caught in it”. “Around 8 p.m., traffic started to slow down suddenly, before stopping completely. Between 8 p.m. and 8 p.m., I managed to move forward about a hundred meters, but since then, I haven't moved an inch,” he tells us.
“We had nothing all night, no one came by”
After wreaking havoc, particularly on the roads of Normandy and Pays de la Loire, on Thursday during the day, winter storm Caetano moved towards the east of the country, blocking hundreds of trucks and cars. “I spent the whole night in the car,” Thomas explains. “Around 1 a.m., they announced help on the radio, they said they would come and distribute blankets and water. But we didn’t get anything all night, no one came by,” the student continues.
Quickly, the young man found himself without battery on his phone. Around 5 a.m., he went to knock on the truck next door to ask for a charger. “He had one and he also gave me a sandwich and biscuits,” continues Thomas, who had not eaten anything since Thursday lunchtime.
Since 8 p.m., the young man has been passing the time as best he can: “I listen to the radio, I look at my phone, I try to sleep.” But it's difficult to sleep when temperatures drop between -5°C and -7°C, according to Météo France. “I haven't been able to sleep very well, I'm not covered much. But I turn on the ignition from time to time to turn on the heating anyway,” says Thomas.
“The instructions were not followed”
If Thomas hopes that the situation will resolve quickly, things could take a little time. His car is surrounded by trucks and the Doubs prefecture has issued an order to prohibit the movement of heavy goods vehicles until 10 a.m…. “They said that heavy goods vehicle breakdown services were on the way, but I am waiting to see,” adds -he.
The Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher deplored, this Friday morning on BFMTV/RMC, that certain trucks had taken to the road: “When there was a traffic ban and there were heavy goods vehicles on the road , is that the instructions were not followed.”
They “may not have had the right information”, she continued, calling however for the development of a “culture of risk” and recalling that the rules are there to “protect, not annoy”. “We will intervene to ensure that these people arrive safely,” she assured, asking motorists not to take the road when possible.
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