Severe weather in France leaves homes without electricity.
Severe storms and hailstorms around France left one woman dead and 14 injured, destroyed vineyards and delayed flights.
Lightning struck the Eiffel Tower, causing no damage, although it burned the roof east of Paris, according to local authorities.
Residents of southwestern France posted online photos of hailstones the size of tennis balls, and drivers in the Paris region have shared images of flooded highways as the daytime sky was obscured by thunder clouds.
In Ille-et-Vilaine on Friday night, the fire brigade received almost a thousand phone calls in two hours.
“For the first time in 20 years, 65 continental departments have been simultaneously on an orange alert with an extremely strong episode of storms,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters.
“Storms have prevented many people from using electricity. 15 thousand people are still without electricity. “There were 3,500 interventions from 2,400 firefighters, whom I thank for their response,” Darmanin said.
Thousands of families were left without electricity on Sunday after storms hit all of France on Saturday, according to the Enedis company. Flights outside Paris’s Orly Airport were temporarily suspended on Saturday and there were delays at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
A woman flooded by floodwaters was found dead under a car in the historic Normandy city of Rouen, according to Darman. The circumstances of the death were unclear.
