PARIS: Severe thunderstorms swept across France, leaving about 53,000 homes without electricity and prompting hundreds of emergency responses as high winds and heavy rain caused widespread disruption.
According to French media, citing electricity distribution operator Enedis, the storms knocked out power to thousands of households, with the hardest-hit areas including the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions.
On Friday morning, nearly 25,000 customers in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and around 20,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine remained without electricity as utility crews worked to restore service.
In the Loire department, firefighters responded to 422 emergency incidents after roofs were damaged, trees fell onto roads and vehicles were struck during the storms.
At the height of the severe weather, power outages affected as many as 8,000 additional homes, while regional rail services between Lyon and Rouen also experienced disruptions on Friday as authorities continued to assess the storm’s impact.