FRANCE/NETHERLANDS: The city of Paris re-activates its official river icebreaker for the first time in several years and the Dutch go skating on Amsterdam canals as some of the coldest winter weather to hit northwestern Europe in decades persists

Record ID: 333221

  • Title: FRANCE/NETHERLANDS: The city of Paris re-activates its official river icebreaker for the first time in several years and the Dutch go skating on Amsterdam canals as some of the coldest winter weather to hit northwestern Europe in decades persists
  • Date: 10th February 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 9, 2012) (REUTERS) PARIS RIVER ICEBREAKERS AT QUAY AT DAYBREAK VARIOUS OF CAPTAIN ON BRIDGE VARIOUS OF BOAT BREAKING ICE ALONG CENTRAL PARIS CANALS ICE IN WATER BRIDGE ICE BOAT SAILING ALONG CANALS VARIOUS OF ICE BOAT GOING UNDER BRIDGE BANKS OF CANALS, PARISIAN APARTMENT BLOCKS BEHIND (SOUNDBITE) (French) RIVER OFFICIAL MARIO CORBIZET SAYING: "When you have, as you can see at the the entrance of the lock a nice uniform stretch of ice, people can be tempted to walk on it, which is extremely dangerous. When they see the ice broken like this, it dissuades people from going onto the ice. So the aim isn't really one of favouring navigation, it's to dissuade people from going on the ice." ICE IN WATER (SOUNDBITE) (French) RIVER OFFICIAL MARIO CORBIZET SAYING: "There are technical difficulties and one has to take a lot of precautions. You have to go very slowly as you can see. Why? Because ice can cut through steel and there's a risk that the hull could be damaged. So that's why we put an icebreaker at the front. It's a pontoon with reinforced steel to penetrate the ice and break it. BOAT SAILING PAST
  • Embargoed: 25th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands, France
  • City:
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA2YZ87B077GJCWX253AZNMGNWR
  • Story Text: Paris city authorities dusted off the capital's only icebreaker for the first time in several years this week to stop people walking on the capital's frozen waterways, while the Dutch used the canals of Amsterdam as a giant skating rink on Thursday (February 9), as some of the coldest weather to hit northwestern Europe in decades continued to chill its inhabitants.
    A special barge fitted with an icebreaker patrolled Paris' central canals chopping up the ice to discourage people from stepping on the smooth surface and falling right through.
    The barge set off shortly after daybreak to smash the seven-centimetre-thick ice that has taken hold for the past week, plowing a trail which is normally a favoured one of tourists sailing through the heart of town.
    "When you have, as you can see at the the entrance of the lock a nice uniform stretch of ice, people can be tempted to walk on it, which is extremely dangerous. When they see the ice broken like this, it dissuades people from going onto the ice. So the aim isn't really one of favouring navigation, it's to dissuade people from going on the ice," said river official Mario Corbizet.
    Temperatures fell as low as 15 degrees Celsius below freezing point overnight and authorities in France maintained a severe weather warning for much of the country, amid forecasts that the cold could persist for several more days.
    Residents of Amsterdam, some 400 kilometres to the north did not have to worry about thin ice. Temperatures having been lower there for longer, its inhabitants were not only able to skate on the city's canals but also to ride bicycles.
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