PARIS – Workers at the Eiffel Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice accumulating on its surfaces, and snow blocked roads on Wednesday and stopped trains and school buses in northern France.
In the midst of a European cold snap, areas in Normandy and Brittany unaccustomed to such icy conditions closed highways for lack of snow removal equipment. In parts of the Paris region, local authorities stopped school buses and urged parents to keep their children at home.
Snow covered the French capital and froze the Eiffel Tower.
“If the temperature drops below zero again, my floors will be partially covered with ice! To get rid of it, we have to use a blowtorch because de-icing salt is too corrosive to the metal, ”tweeted the monument, which has been closed to the public for months due to coronavirus restrictions.
Parts of Central and Northern Europe, as well as Great Britain, have been dealing with cold weather since the weekend. Heavy snowfall confused traffic and stranded drivers in Germany and the Czech Republic.
Some took advantage of the icy climates. Cross-country skiers glided over Charles Bridge in Prague, children sledge in the usually snowless parks of the Belgian capital Brussels and the deep winter break has revived the Dutch national obsession with ice skating on frozen canals.