Paris floods

[marazul]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36432429

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2016/06/02/crue-de-la-seine-le-louvre-ferme-vendredi-pour-evacuer-les-uvres-en-reserve_4931559_3244.html

Photos:

http://www.lemonde.fr/photo/portfolio/2016/06/02/en-images-paris-sous-les-eaux_4931745_4789037.html

 

Of great concern for anyone going to Paris this week. The Seine is flooding due to the torrential rains in central Europe these past few days. The quais (riverside roads) are under water. The Louvre and Quai d'Orsay are closing until further notice, some Metro stations are closed (St Michel, etc). The bateaux-mouches are not running.

 

South of Paris, the cities of Nemours and Montargis are flloded. This will probably affect the Loire valley sites too.

 

Please, read the above articles to see how this could affect your plans.

Edited June 2, 2016 by marazul

[marazul]

It finally made the US news:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/europe/france-louvre-artworks-flooding/index.html

 

By the way, the strike is still on. Full train and metro service might not resume before Monday.

 

And, yes, as I suspected, there are floods in the Loire valley. Look at the CNN picture of the castle at Chambord.

Edited June 3, 2016 by marazul

[Host Bonjour]

The Seine has started to recede, thankfully and no art was lost in the museums. Recovery is underway in the Loire and Bavaria and other affected regions. Tragically, extreme weather has taken lives again - these phenomena are never easy to endure or witness. We hope the recovery process goes well for everyone involved.

[marazul]

Yes, the Seine is beginning to recede in Paris, but the floods are increasing downstream towards the West. They expect very high waters at Rouen.

 

http://newsinnormandy.com/news/rouen-hit-by-flash-floods/

 

The canals are the most affected. If you can handle French or get a translation, read this:

 

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2016/06/04/inondations-les-voies-navigables-de-france-au-c-ur-de-la-crise_4934464_3244.html

 

If you are on a barge trip, do your research.

 

Someone asked about the chateaux of the Loire. Rather than depend on the travel agent or others in CC, anyone with travel plans should go directly to the websites of each chateaux (they do have English pages) and see what they say about opening.

 

So far, they estimate the damages at Chambord exceed 200,000 euros. So far, it is closed through June 5, but it is best to check later in the week.

Edited June 4, 2016 by marazul

[marazul]

The Louvre and d'Orsay will reopen Tuesday, June7.

 

For other places, check their websites. It is possible that some exhibits will remain closed even if the site opens to the public.