France shivers in cold snap - but Spring is coming

As France shivers in the grip of the big freeze from Siberia, forecasters have promised that spring is on its way - with temperatures set to leap from sub zero to as high as 15C in the southwest by Sunday.

Meteo France has said that France 'will pass from winter to spring in a week', as a warm front starts to push the arctic weather system away from Wednesday. Parts of the southwest could see temperatures jump 10C in just 24 hours, forecasters said.

But they also warned that Nouvelle Aquitaine and Languedoc areas could experience heavy snowfalls, as the warm weather system meets the arctic air currently over France as it pushes northeast.

Three people - a 35-year-old homeless man died in Valencia (Drôme), a 62-year-old man in Yvelines, and a 53-year-old homeless man in Grésy-sur-Aix (Savoie) - have so far died as a result of the cold snap.

On Tuesday morning, temperatures were between -4C and -8C in low-lying areas, dropping to as low as -12C at higher altitudes. Even coastal regions, which generally avoid the worst of the cold, saw the mercury dip as low as -1C.

Daytime temperatures on Tuesday were forecast to remain below zero across most of the country. Only Mediterranean areas and parts of Brittany and the Atlantic southwest were expected to see the mercury rise above zero.

On Monday, large swathes of the French Riviera were under a blanket of snow. Several flights were cancelled at Nice airport as airport staff struggled to keep runways and the cockpit windows clear of snow and ice. Such weather conditions are so unusual in the area that the airport is not equipped with aircraft de-icing systems.

A total 68 departments have now activated their 'Grand Froid' plans, opening more than 5,300 temporary accommodation places for homeless and vulnerable people, including more than 1,700 in Paris alone. Patrols have also been stepped up in a bid to find rough sleepers who may need help.

Meanwhile, about 50 councillors in Ile-de-France are due to sleep at Paris's Gare d'Austerlitz on Wednesday night - when temperatures are set to dip as low as -2C - to get a taste of what it is like to be homeless, and raise awareness of the plight of the thousands of people who sleep rough in the capital.