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France weather LATEST: Freezing temperatures cause further travel disruption in Paris

The Local France
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France weather LATEST: Freezing temperatures cause further travel disruption in Paris
Photos: AFP

Sub-zero temperatures and the dangers of black ice meant commuters and people travelling around Paris faced further disruption on Thursday with roads, train services and flights all hit. While there was no more snow overnight Paris faced further travel delays and disruption on Thursday.

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There were clear blue skies over Paris on Thursday morning but that meant temperatures dropped to below freezing.

The Mercury dropped to -2C in Paris and -4C at the airports Paris CDG and Orly which meant the snow and slush left over from Wednesday morning froze overnight. Ice was the new concern for authorities.

In total, 27 departments, largely in central and northern France were on orange alert due to more snow forecast on on Friday.

Map: Meteo France

Meteo France, the country's weather service said the cold and the freezing of the snow and slush mean there was a real danger of vehicles skidding on black ice in the French capital.

Paris police have once again urged motorists across the whole of the Île-de-France region around Paris not to drive on Thursday to avoid further chaos on the roads which saw a record length of traffic jams on Tuesday evening.

Some roads such as the N118 to the south of Paris remain closed, with around 80 abandoned vehicles still to be cleared.

Lorries remain banned from using the main highways around the greater Paris region which has infuriated truck drivers. Most have had to sleep in their trucks on the hard shoulder until police give them the all clear.

The situation had improved slightly on the rails, with SNCF saying two out of three trains would be operating on Thursday compared to only 50 percent on Wednesday. 

The high speed TGV services were running but passengers were warned to expected delays due to speed limits imposed on the trains due to the freezing temperatures.

SNCF say the risk of ice blocks forming on the trains and becoming dislodged means speed limits have to be reduced to between 160km/h and 220km/h from the normal speed of 320 km/h.

On Wednesday ¨Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo admitted the capital had a "problem" with "the great vulnerability of transport networks."

"All public services throughout the region need to be far better prepared for exceptional events," she told French television.

In Paris most Metro lines were running as normal but passengers were warned lines 6,8, 10 and 12 were not operating a full service. RER train services on lines A, E and B, which links Paris to the two airports should be running as normal according to transport chiefs.

Passengers using the the RER C and D faced slight delays however.

Te OrlyVal shuttle service that links  the RER B to the two Orly airport terminals was not operating on Thursday morning however.

Bus services which were suspended altogether in the capital on Tuesday afternoon were due to get back up and running on Wednesday throughout the day but that all depends on whether the roads are salted and safe to navigate.

Tram services should operate as normal.

On Wednesday Air France announced it was suspending dozens of flights from Paris airports. Passengers are advised to check with the airline before making their way to Charles de Gaulle or Orly airports on Thursday.

Forecasters have also confirmed on Thursday that more snow is expected to fall over the Paris region on Friday with between 3cm and 7cm predicted.

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