Watch: Floods hit Paris and Toulouse as fresh storms sweep in
Metro stations were closed and streets flooded as heavy rain hit on Sunday. More downpours are expected on Monday
Storm warnings are in place for nearly 70 French departments on Monday
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Storms and heavy rain caused flooding across France at the weekend.
Two of the country’s biggest cities - Paris and Toulouse - parking garages, cellars, streets and metro stations flooded.
In the capital, 20mm of rain fell in only ten minutes on Sunday (June 11) evening.
Until recently, Paris had seen a record-breaking spell of more than three weeks without a single drop of rain.
Hundreds of emergency service calls
Cities and towns across France were hit with intense rain on Sunday evening, with conditions particularly bad in Paris and Toulouse.
Whereas stormy conditions have been present across much of the south of France since the end of May, Paris and other northern cities had gone weeks without any rain.
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The sudden deluge was all the more surprising then, with footage capturing a hail storm in the 11th arrondissement.
A number of metro stations were also flooded, causing delays on certain lines, and drivers were impacted by the temporary closure of the La Défense tunnel in Hauts-de-Seine, to clear out water.
Above ground, the rainfall saw streets inundated with water, such as the suburb of Jourdain in the 20th arrondissement.
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Meanwhile, a number of artworks held in the Saint-Maclou Cathedral in Pontoise, to the north-west of Paris, were reported to be damaged by the rain.
Firefighters in Paris urged people not to “clog up” the emergency service lines with unnecessary calls.
The Roland-Garros tennis final was not affected by the weather. But Beyonce's concert in Marseille saw delays.
In Toulouse, it was a similar story, with metro stations closed and streets flooded.
Driving on main roads became increasingly difficult for cars.
The weather also affected drivers of other vehicles, with one motorcyclist captured struggling through a flooded street.
The Haute-Garonne department, where the city is located, said around 100 calls were made to firefighters due to weather-related incidents on Sunday.
Read more: Floods fear as storms alert level increased in southern France
Storms to continue this week
For vast swathes of the country, there will be no respite from the weather, with Météo France reporting that 69 departments are currently facing level two warnings over storms.
This includes the region around Paris, as well as the entirety of southern France. Brittany and the north-east of France are not facing any warnings, however.
Some departments are also facing warnings over flooding, either from general rainfall (Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var) or from burst riverbanks across the south of the country.
You can find out more through the official Météo France website here.
During level two alerts, residents are advised to be cautious when outside and keep up to date with local weather alerts.
By Tuesday (June 13), the storms should begin to move south, with only 38 departments – all in the south of France – facing warnings.
After this, however, France is set to face an extended heatwave, with temperatures in the capital reaching above 30c.
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