Eiffel Tower forced to close as snow blankets Paris

The Meteo France weather service put the greater Paris region on alert for snow and black ice on roads, among 27 departments it expected to be on alert across the country until midday Wednesday.

The weather caused major gridlock across the city, with more than 700 kilometres (430 miles) of traffic jams recorded at 7:30 pm local time (1830 GMT) on Tuesday, local information service Sytadin said.

?❄️⛄️? #neige #neige paris pic.twitter.com/0CLwRlODbx

— Esther.B (@Esther_basss) February 6, 2018

Paris bus services were cancelled on Tuesday evening, according to the RATP transport authority, and school transport would not run on Wednesday in several areas.

Meteo France says the snowfall will intensify overnight Wednesday, with temperatures expected to fall as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), leaving five to 10 centimetres (two to four inches) in most areas on alert.

Snow had already dusted Paris on Monday before quickly melting away.

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