Power cuts in 600,000 homes after French storms

More than 600,000 French homes suffered power cuts today after 90 mph winds brought chaos to the north and west of the country.

The storm also disrupted travel for thousands of passengers scheduled to fly through Paris’ airports, which closed for 14 hours overnight.

Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget airports reopened this morning and traffic was progressively returning to normal.

France’s electricity distribution network said power had been restored to roughly half of affected households in the hardest-hit western regions by 7am.

But as the storm swept inland from the Atlantic it caused further power cuts to other regions in the centre of the country.

Air France said it had put up around 3,000 passengers affected by the Paris airport closures in local hotels overnight.

The airline said it cancelled 250 flights yesterday, as well as 15% of today’s scheduled short- and medium-haul flights. All long-haul flights from the Paris airports were going ahead today, though long delays were likely.