METEO France has issued an avalanche alert for the Pyrenees and the southern French Alps as the half-term ski holidays get underway.

Skiers have been told to be extremely vigilant because of strong winds and fresh snowfall settling on fragile layers of earlier snow.

Two off-piste skiers died at the weekend in separate incidents at La-Foux-d'Allos in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Isola 2000 in the Alpes-Maritimes.

Météo France says the Alpine resorts most exposed are Les Avaris, Les Bauges, Beaufortain and Belledonne – and skiers should avoid going off-piste.

The weather observation group says special vigilance is needed above 2,000m in the Haute-Garonne, Ariège and Hautes-Pyrénées.

The half-term holidays began at the weekend in Zone B (see the map here). Zone A breaks up this Friday, followed by the Paris region and Bordeaux (Zone C) a week later.

Photo:Isola 2000, credit Kanjiroushi