- Title: FRANCE/BELGIUM: French and Belgians wake to white work week
- Date: 5th January 2009
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 5, 2009) (REUTERS) CATHEDRAL NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS WITH SNOW ON THE PAVEMENT PARKING ENTRY NEAR THE CATHEDRAL, PAVEMENT AND TREES COVERED WITH SNOW CHILD AND MOTHER WALKING ON SNOWED UP PAVEMENT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING NEAR THE CATHEDRAL TOURISTS WITH UMBRELLAS LOOKING AT A PARIS MAP WOMAN WITH HIGH HEALED SHOES WALKING TO THE CATHEDRAL BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JANUARY 5, 2009) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN UNION FLAGS AND SNOW FALLING EXTERIOR COMMISSION WITH SNOW ON THE GROUND PEOPLE WALKING IN THE SNOW OPPOSITE THE COMMISSION EU FLAGS AND SMALL SNOWMAN ON THE LEDGE ROOFTOPS COVERED WITH SNOW / SNOWFLAKES HITTING CAMERA LENS SNOW ON ROOFTOPS PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOGRAPH OF EACH OTHER IN SNOW SNOW IN FRONT OF PALACE OF JUSTICE (LAW COURTS) SOMEONE WALKING IN THE SNOW EXTERIOR ROYAL PALACE ROYAL GUARDS MARCHING IN THE SNOW SNOW IN FRONT OF THE PALACE ROYAL GUARD IN BOX PEOPLE IN PARK IN FRONT OF THE PALACE KAMPENHOUT, 15 KM NORTH OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JANUARY 5, 2009) (REUTERS) CAR COVERED WITH SNOW DRIVING SNOW COVERED FIELD GOOSE WALKING IN SNOW SHEEP IN SNOW SHEEP STANDING BEHIND FENCE
- Embargoed: 20th January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Weather
- Reuters ID: LVA29SVAUP2L8J6XY9083FW0OQ83
- Story Text: Many Europeans faced a chilly return to work on Monday (January 5) with freezing temperatures for the first working week of 2009.
A wave of snow struck France, Belgium and several other countries as temperatures dropped overnight.
Passers-by and tourists admired the huge Notre-Dame cathedral in its unusually white surroundings.
Despite the snow, traffic in Paris was not disrupted and commuters and tourists were able to move easily across the capital Belgians had a different experience as heavy snowfall with icy rains caused traffic jams of up to 30 kilometres (19 miles) on the country's main axis roads into the capital Brussels.
Pedestrians struggled on snowy sidewalks as they walked to work near the European Commission, where a small snowman stood beneath the EU flags.
Several flights to and from Brussels airport were cancelled on Monday morning and others delayed according to the airport website.
Some flights to Charleroi airport, in southern Belgium, were diverted to French airports Lille and Beauvais because of the bad weather but also because many passengers missed their planes, slowed down by the unexpected snowfall.
But tourists in the area took advantage of the scenic backgrounds, snapping photos of themselves in front of the Palace of Justice.
Belgian news agency quoted airport authorities as saying snow melting machines were unable to keep up with the snowfall.
Even livestock in the more rural municipality of Kampenhout, 15 kilometres (9 miles) north of Brussels, seemed startled by the snowfall in their paddocks.
The Royal Institute of Meteorology forecast a further drop in temperature to below zero Celsius in the coming days. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None