An intense snow offensive hits France on Wednesday, with 38 departments on orange alert for snow and ice. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot advises avoiding travel in Île-de-France and favoring telework. Deadly accidents and transport disruptions already mark the current episode.
France faces a major new snow episode on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, following more intense falls than expected in recent days. According to Météo-France, 38 departments, from Poitou-Charentes to the Belgian border via Centre-Val de Loire and Île-de-France, are on orange alert. Forecasts predict 3 to 6 cm of snow on average, up to 8-10 cm locally in Hauts-de-France and Ardennes, with ice risk on frozen ground.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot acknowledged in a press conference that «the episode turned out more significant than expected, with up to 8 cm in places». He urged limiting travel, emphasizing telework in Île-de-France where speed will be capped at 70 km/h and heavy trucks banned. Sanef, the highway operator, asks drivers to cancel trips.
Transports are severely disrupted. SNCF halts electric trains on several lines from 6am to noon and slows high-speed lines. Île-de-France Mobilités suspends school transport in four departments and expects bus stoppages. At Paris airports, 40% of flights are canceled at Charles-de-Gaulle and 25% at Orly from 6am to 2pm for snow removal.
The episode has already caused five deaths: three in Landes from two ice-related accidents on A63 and RD824, and two in Île-de-France, including a VTC driver. An interministerial crisis cell, chaired by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, coordinates responses. About 6,100 households are without power in Pays de la Loire, and electricity consumption exceeded 90 GW, a rare peak.
Despite persistent cold since Christmas, experts like Régis Crépet from La Chaîne Météo note it's a «sustained cold peak» not a national cold wave, though regional waves affect the East and Center-East.