South of France snow shuts airports

Heavy snowfall shut down two airports in southern France today while children were given a day off after schools shut down to avoid accidents on icy roads, authorities said.

In Paris, flooding forced the closure of the roads that run alongside both the Left and Right banks of the Seine River, causing traffic congestion.

All flights to and from the southern cities of Nimes and Montpellier were cancelled after authorities decided to close the airports until Tuesday. Travellers at Toulouse airport faced delays and cancellations.

Several major roads linking France and Spain across the Pyrenees mountains were closed to vehicles because of poor visibility and treacherous sheets of ice.

France’s road safety agency advised drivers across swaths of southern France to avoid using their cars. If unavoidable, the agency warned “the risk of ice requires the greatest possible caution.”

It also said there was a high risk of avalanches in mountainous areas.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin acknowledged that the authorities had been ill-prepared. He said he understood “the discontent of motorists and all those at airports and elsewhere who were blocked.”