A handful of skiers slalomed down the hilly streets of Montmartre in Paris on Wednesday, taking advantage of heavy snowfall that otherwise spelled misery for thousands of commuters.
The icy roads of Paris were unusually quiet after police urged people to leave their vehicles at home after 12 centimetres (nearly five inches) was dumped on the French capital overnight, with up to 20 cm reported in nearby suburbs and rural areas.
Public transport was chaotic, with some tram and commuter rail lines shut down, and almost all bus services halted in the capital. Hundreds of stranded drivers had to sleep in their cars or train stations overnight.
But the wintry weather was a delight for school children as well as the gaggle of ski and snowboard fans who gathered at the Sacre-Coeur basilica at the top of Montmartre, the hill in the north of the city.
They managed to get in about an hour of runs in the morning on the steep slopes of the park that descends from the church before being chased off by the police.
"The snow is good, a little powdery, not as great as in 2010 but 2010 was historic," said Gilles, founder and sole member of the "Montmartre Ski Club", bearing a sweatshirt with the club's logo and altitude -- 130 metres above sea level.
For tourists in the City of Lights, the Eiffel Tower was closed for a second day in a row due to the snow, while flight cancellations affected passengers at the main airports.
- 'Exceptional situation' -
Elsewhere, evacuations were under way mid-way through Wednesday for at least 900 of the nearly 2,000 people stranded overnight on the N118 highway southeast of Paris, prompting anger from drivers who said the route should have been closed to traffic sooner.
One driver, Antonio De Lemos, told AFP he had been "stuck in the snow since 5:00 pm" and spent the night in his car.
"It's a natural event, but it's not normal because they leave all the roads blocked, without salting them" to remove the ice, he said.
"We're dealing with an exceptional situation," interior ministry spokesman Frederic de Lanouvelle told AFP, urging people "not to use their vehicles".
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the "lessons would be learned" after the snowfalls, but he defended officials' response, saying: "It's hard to know at 8:00 in the morning that roads will be blocked at 2:00 pm."
A record 740 kilometres (460 miles) of traffic jams were recorded on Tuesday night as the snow began to settle, according to the regional Sytadin traffic authority.
Temperatures are set to fall further into Wednesday and Thursday, the Meteo France weather service warned, which is likely to freeze the heavy snow in place, making conditions even more treacherous.
- Travel misery -
Officials had opened 46 shelters in the greater Paris region for people stranded by the snow, while about 700 had to spend the night at the Montparnasse and Austerlitz train stations in Paris.
Some 230 people had to sleep as best they could at Orly airport south of the capital.
Flights were disrupted at Orly and Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport Wednesday morning, the result of de-icing operations but also because many staff were unable to make it to work.
Many travellers were stuck at the airport as train services resumed only slowly after being halted early Wednesday, and few taxis were willing to brave the roads.
"I tried to get into Paris by train. I was sitting on a train for half an hour and then everyone got up and left," said Paul Farberman, a 66-year-old music industry executive who had just flown in from Los Angeles.
"They said there are no trains and no buses," he added. "I love Paris. I would just love to get there and see it."
A handful of skiers slalomed down the hilly streets of Montmartre in Paris on Wednesday, taking advantage of heavy snowfall that otherwise spelled misery for thousands of commuters.
The icy roads of Paris were unusually quiet after police urged people to leave their vehicles at home after 12 centimetres (nearly five inches) was dumped on the French capital overnight, with up to 20 cm reported in nearby suburbs and rural areas.
Public transport was chaotic, with some tram and commuter rail lines shut down, and almost all bus services halted in the capital. Hundreds of stranded drivers had to sleep in their cars or train stations overnight.
But the wintry weather was a delight for school children as well as the gaggle of ski and snowboard fans who gathered at the Sacre-Coeur basilica at the top of Montmartre, the hill in the north of the city.
They managed to get in about an hour of runs in the morning on the steep slopes of the park that descends from the church before being chased off by the police.
“The snow is good, a little powdery, not as great as in 2010 but 2010 was historic,” said Gilles, founder and sole member of the “Montmartre Ski Club”, bearing a sweatshirt with the club’s logo and altitude — 130 metres above sea level.
For tourists in the City of Lights, the Eiffel Tower was closed for a second day in a row due to the snow, while flight cancellations affected passengers at the main airports.
– ‘Exceptional situation’ –
Elsewhere, evacuations were under way mid-way through Wednesday for at least 900 of the nearly 2,000 people stranded overnight on the N118 highway southeast of Paris, prompting anger from drivers who said the route should have been closed to traffic sooner.
One driver, Antonio De Lemos, told AFP he had been “stuck in the snow since 5:00 pm” and spent the night in his car.
“It’s a natural event, but it’s not normal because they leave all the roads blocked, without salting them” to remove the ice, he said.
“We’re dealing with an exceptional situation,” interior ministry spokesman Frederic de Lanouvelle told AFP, urging people “not to use their vehicles”.
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the “lessons would be learned” after the snowfalls, but he defended officials’ response, saying: “It’s hard to know at 8:00 in the morning that roads will be blocked at 2:00 pm.”
A record 740 kilometres (460 miles) of traffic jams were recorded on Tuesday night as the snow began to settle, according to the regional Sytadin traffic authority.
Temperatures are set to fall further into Wednesday and Thursday, the Meteo France weather service warned, which is likely to freeze the heavy snow in place, making conditions even more treacherous.
– Travel misery –
Officials had opened 46 shelters in the greater Paris region for people stranded by the snow, while about 700 had to spend the night at the Montparnasse and Austerlitz train stations in Paris.
Some 230 people had to sleep as best they could at Orly airport south of the capital.
Flights were disrupted at Orly and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport Wednesday morning, the result of de-icing operations but also because many staff were unable to make it to work.
Many travellers were stuck at the airport as train services resumed only slowly after being halted early Wednesday, and few taxis were willing to brave the roads.
“I tried to get into Paris by train. I was sitting on a train for half an hour and then everyone got up and left,” said Paul Farberman, a 66-year-old music industry executive who had just flown in from Los Angeles.
“They said there are no trains and no buses,” he added. “I love Paris. I would just love to get there and see it.”
