Torrential Rains Disrupt Paris Travel Plans
As if rail and air traffic control strikes weren’t enough, torrential rains have disrupted popular visitor sites and travel to and around Paris, as the Seine River has overflowed its banks.
Heavy rains across Europe have left 10 people dead in Germany and one Frenchman on the outskirts of Paris.
In Paris, the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay were closed Friday as curators and museum staff rushed to save art works on lower floors, and the French Open tennis tournament could be delayed into a third week. Tourist boats on the Seine are unable to operate as the water levels will not allow them to pass under the Seine’s famous bridges.
Reports from France also showed that the RER C train from Orly Airport to Paris was temporarily suspended due to flooding along the tracks.
In nearby Nemours, 3,000 people were evacuated as the town’s Loing river, a tributary of the Seine, experienced water levels unseen in more than 100 years.
Officials are not certain when visitor attractions and other services will reopen as heavy rain is forecast through the weekend.
