France faces extreme weather with widespread floods, heavy snowfall, and a deadly avalanche in Savoie. Storm Pedro, expected Wednesday and Thursday, risks worsening conditions with strong winds and heavy rains. Authorities urge vigilance in several regions.
France is enduring intense weather disruptions on February 17, 2026. Exceptional floods are affecting numerous basins, with five sectors on red alert, including the Garonne, Charente, and Loire rivers, and fourteen on orange. In Paris, the Seine exceeded the alert threshold but remains at a moderate level, peaking around noon at the Austerlitz Bridge, influenced by upstream floods from the Marne, Yonne, and Loing basins.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfall has hit Savoie, with 'astronomical' quantities forming walls several meters high, as at Bonneval-sur-Arc where the station suspended operations for snow removal. Cars were buried at La Rosière, and several departmental roads were closed in Savoie, Haute-Savoie, and Isère due to a high avalanche risk.
This Tuesday at noon, a natural avalanche occurred on the Col du Galibier road, 2.5 km from Valloire in Savoie. This slide, 1,000 m high and 300 m wide, crossed the road outside the ski area, causing one death and three injuries, including two serious, all French nationals. According to Albertville prosecutor Benoît Bachelet, the victims were identified after a major rescue operation involving 200 people, including PGHM military personnel, complicated by the risk of further avalanches. Valloire station closed in the afternoon, and 120 residents and vacationers from the hamlets of La Rivine and La Borgé were evacuated and relocated. Savoie is on orange avalanche alert, and an investigation into the causes of the death and injuries has been opened.
Storm Pedro, a deep depression, arrives Wednesday and Thursday, bringing winds strengthening to 140 km/h on exposed capes, rains of 15 to 30 mm Wednesday from Brittany to the Paris Basin, and up to 50 mm Thursday in the Southwest and Alps, according to La Chaîne Météo. On saturated soils, this risks worsening floods in red-alert departments like Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne. Gusts of 90 to 100 km/h are forecast along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, with submersion risk in Aquitaine due to high tide coefficients. In the mountains, snowfall continues, maintaining a high avalanche risk. Authorities recommend avoiding navigation and securing boats.