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Flood hits Paris phones and net
France Telecom says it will take up to a week to restore connection to 30,000 homes and businesses around Champs-Elysées
ABOUT 30,000 homes and businesses in the centre of Paris are facing a week without telephone or internet access due to flooding.
Heavy rainfall on Friday night has caused severe damage to a telephone exchange in the heart of the capital.
The exchange on Rue Beaujon in the eighth arrondissement serves a busy residential and office district, including parts of the Champs-Elysées.
France Telecom said the damage to the network from the flooded exchange was "substantial".
About 15,000 businesses and a similar number of homes are affected.
The operator said a return to normal service would take at least "five or six days".
Two inches of rain fell in less than two hours on Friday night in the Ile-de-France.
Part of the busy RER interchange at Châtelet-les-Halles was also flooded, preventing some trains stopping there.