Paris – A blanket of snow descended on Parisians returning from the Christmas holidays on Monday, January 5. From early afternoon, a heavy snowfall transformed the city, coating landmarks from Notre-Dame to the Seine, and the bustling ring road to the slopes of Montmartre. Météo-France, the national meteorological service, reported 4 centimeters of snowfall across the capital.
Neve at Notre Dame
A Winter Wonderland, But Travel Chaos Ensues
Paris experienced a rare snowfall, creating picturesque scenes but also significant disruptions to transportation.
- Approximately 4 centimeters of snow fell across Paris on January 5.
- Traffic congestion reached a record 1,000 kilometers due to the snowfall.
- Transportation services, including buses, trains, and air travel, faced significant delays and cancellations.
- Temperatures are expected to drop to between -3°C and -7°C overnight.
The snowfall quickly transformed familiar Parisian scenes. The steps of Montmartre became an impromptu ski slope for the adventurous, while cyclists cautiously navigated the usually busy Rue de Rivoli, now eerily deserted and pristine.
The statue of Louis XIV covered in snow in Paris
Traffic Grinds to a Halt, Travel Disrupted
By 6:30 p.m. local time, the snowfall had caused over 1,000 kilometers of traffic jams on roads in the Île-de-France region – an unprecedented level of congestion, comparable to peak summer holiday travel on southern French motorways.
Authorities activated the “Snow and Ice” plan at 2 p.m., reducing speed limits to 80 kilometers per hour on motorways surrounding Paris. High-speed trains were running at a maximum of 200 kilometers per hour, and vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes were prohibited in Brittany and Normandy. Eurostar services between France, England, and the Netherlands were suspended, and Paris airports reduced air traffic by 15% in the evening, according to French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.
Queues under the snow in Paris
RATP, the Parisian public transport operator, suspended all bus services around 4 p.m. One commuter, speaking to Le Figaro, voiced frustration, stating, “We are not in a Third World country! In Canada, temperatures drop to -40°C and they manage because they organize in advance.”
To mitigate further disruptions, RATP announced via Bfmtv that empty trains would run throughout the night on metro, RER, and tram lines to prevent frost.
Snow in Paris
Looking ahead, school buses in the departments of Essonne and Seine-et-Marne, adjacent to Paris, will remain grounded tomorrow. Twenty-six French departments, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Belgian border, are under orange alert until at least 10 a.m. on January 6.
Snow in Paris
Despite the travel woes, Paris retains a certain charm under a blanket of snow. As Émile Zola observed in Le Figaro in 1867, a snowy Paris is a city where “all the ugliness of winter has gone away and where every house resembles a beautiful lady who has worn fur […] since yesterday Paris has felt that joy that snow gives to children and adults who have become children again. We are simply happy because the earth is white.”
Snow in Paris
