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PHOTOS: Cars submerged as violent storms hit France - alerts continue
Rain is set to fall across all of country this week, with more than 100mm in some areas
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PHOTOS: Northern Lights stun in skies across southern France
Phenomena was seen across almost all of France this weekend
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French towns take action to reduce percentage of second homes
A new town is to offer ‘tiny homes’ to rent all year round from just €100 per month. Around 25 other French communes are working on similar projects
7,000 lose power after heavy snow
Highest avalanche alert at Pyrenees resorts as more than a metre falls in some areas
SEVEN thousand homes in the Pyrenees are without power and several ski resorts have been forced to close after more than a metre of snow fell in some areas, triggering the highest level of avalanche alert.
Four departments in the region remain on orange alert from Météo France: the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège.
Pompiers are organising convoys to help drivers who were trapped at ski stations, including Artouste, La Pierre Saint-Martin and Gourette. The avalanche risk at many resorts is five out of five.
LA photo du jour #ApocalypseSnowNPY@la_psm pic.twitter.com/CvhkDX8bq8— La Pierre St Martin (@la_psm) February 1, 2015
Electricity supplier ERDF says 5,000 homes in the Hautes-Pyrénées and 2,000 in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques have lost power. About 200 engineers are working around the clock in difficult conditions to restore electricity.
The avalanche risk is high in the Alps as well. A 17-year-old French girl was one of 10 off-piste skiers killed in avalanches in the Swiss Alps in recent days.
Notre camion #itele sous 2m de neige. Station de Gourette #pyreneesatlantiques pic.twitter.com/0R7XwTTU46— DJAMEL MAZI (@djamel_mazi) February 1, 2015