Storm Ciaran continues to wreak havoc across the UK and Europe, as France is now also feeling the effects as one person has been killed, four injured and 1.2m homes left without power.
North west France, including Brittany and Normandy, have been hardest hit as gales reached a staggering 100mph last night.
French President Emmanuel Macron issued a warning to the residents of the regions – which were on ‘red alert’ – saying: “To the residents of the departments on alert: don’t take any risks.
“Stay at home and check on your isolated loved ones. Many thanks to the government and local authority workers who are keeping watch.”
The worst of the storm hit last night before continuing through the night into this morning. French news website actu.fr reports that a pillar of a church collapsed in Argentan, a crane arm nearly fell in Brest and at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a wind gust of 100mph was recorded.
Paris and its inner suburbs have been placed on an orange alert for high winds, as Storm Ciaran sweeps through the city. Those flying into the city should be aware, as in Seine-Saint-Denis, the gusts were close to 62mph, with a peak of 60mph recorded in near Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
Many of the red, orange and yellow alerts across the country have been lifted this morning.
According to Franceinfo, a lorry driver sadly died in Aisne, near the village of Ressons-le-Long, after a tree fell on his vehicle after being blown over in the strong winds.
Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, said: “Last night, a lorry driver died in a road accident in Aisne with a tree falling on the truck”.
The area was on a yellow alert for the storm, and Mr Beaune added: “Even in the departments which are not on red alert, there are very strong risks, very strong dangers on the road.”
Two firefighters were also injured during intervention in Ille-et-Vilaine.
In the Morbihan district of Brittany, firefighters received more than 1,000 calls linked to the storm. A house roof fell on parked cars in Vannes and a tree also fell on a home in Lanester, and roads were closed to traffic.
Elsewhere, 1.2million homes are without electricity, with a staggering 780,000 of those in Brittany alone. Electricity supplier Enedis wrote in a statement: “3,000 Enedis employees and service providers are working with the appropriate logistical resources, including 300 generators and 30 helicopters.”
A national crisis was declared following the outage, with Enedis adding: “These figures will continue to evolve, surely on the rise.”
The highest wind speed was recorded in Finistère, as 129mph gales were recorded in Pointe du Raz. As a result of these high winds, traffic was banned on the roads of Breton on Thursday morning, after roads became blocked by falling trees and poles.
