Central and northern Europe in grip of cold spell

Snow covers the roofs of houses in Kronberg near Frankfurt, Germany (AP)

Workers at the Eiffel Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces and snow was blocking roads and halting trains and school buses Wednesday across northern France.

Amid a European cold snap, areas in Normandy and Brittany unused to such icy conditions were closing highways for lack of snow-clearing equipment.