UPDATE: Météo France extends orange storm warnings

Forecaster Météo France has now placed 32 departments on orange storm alert, up from four earlier on Monday.

As well as Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, affected departments - in a swathe from the west to northeast of the country are: Aisne, Ardennes, Calvados, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Marne, Mayenne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Nord, Oise, Orne, Pas-de-Calais, Sarthe, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Maritime, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Somme, Vendée, Essonne and Val-d'Oise.

thunderstorms developing in the Massif Central will move northwest, the forecaster said, on top of the heavy storms hitting the four western departments included in an earlier alert.

These storms are likely to cause "significant damage locally", warned Météo France, particularly when travelling and taking part in leisure activities.

The meteorological organisation advised against "using the telephone and electrical appliances" during storms and to get to safety "when a storm is approaching".

As well as hail, up to 50mm of rain could fall locally in a short time, Météo France said.