Four dead in France as flooding peaks in Paris

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (left) and Essone departmental council president Francois Duvovray visit flooded areas in a southern Paris suburb. (Photo: AFP)

The death toll from the flooding in France has risen to four, officials said on Saturday, as the water level of the Seine river in Paris slowly started to decrease after reaching its peak overnight.

But authorities warned it could take up to ten days for the river to return to normal after swelling to its highest level in nearly 35 years, about 4.5 meters above average.

The death toll from the flooding across the country has risen to four while 24 people have been injured, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after a meeting at a government crisis centre today. He didn’t give any more details about the additional death, which brings the total death toll across Europe from the flooding in recent days to 17.

Mr Valls said the water level of the Seine is now decreasing “slowly but steadily” in Paris and that several ministerial meetings will be held next week to ensure quick financial help to the people affected.

He also urged Paris visitors and residents to “take care to observe safety precautions” since many have been walking along the river banks to observe the rare phenomena. Nearly a week of heavy rain led to serious flooding across parts of France, Germany, Romania and Belgium.

French energy company Enedis said over 17,000 homes were still without electricity Saturday in the Paris region and central France. Authorities have shut the Louvre museum, the national library, the Orsay museum and the Grand Palais, Paris’ striking glass-and-steel topped exhibition center.

The Louvre, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” said it won’t reopen until Wednesday. Curators were scrambling to move some 250,000 artworks from basement storage areas at risk of flooding to safer areas upstairs.

The Orsay Museum, known for its impressionist art, closed through the weekend.