Floodwaters slowly receded from the streets of Paris on Sunday, one day after the Seine River reached its highest level in more than 30 years.
But new thunderstorms were expected to hit eastern France early this week, and in Normandy, northwest of the French capital, the Seine River was expected to peak late Sunday.
In Paris, the river peaked Saturday at more than 13 feet above normal, according to the national flood service. Authorities warned that it could take up to 10 days to return to normal levels.
The Louvre Museum, as well as several Paris train stations and roads, remained closed, the Associated Press reported, with restaurants along the Seine still engulfed in water and tourist boats unable to pass under bridges.
But the glass-topped Grand Palais exhibition hall opened again on Sunday, two days after it closed amid flooding concerns. It is hosting an exhibit by avant-garde Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping, among several others.
The worst flooding appeared to end earlier this weekend, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported, as water levels began to fall for the first time in nearly a week. The flooding was the worst in France’s capital since 1982, the newspaper reported, with more than 20,000 people evacuated since last weekend and about 18,000 homes without power earlier last week.
More than 11,000 French homes were still without electricity on Sunday, AP reported.
President Francois Hollande said two top-level meetings this week — one on Monday and another Wednesday — will focus on the flooding and its aftermath.
"We are very vigilant so that should there be more bad weather, there won't be consequences," Hollande told France Inter radio. Hollande said he was confident that the month-long European Championship soccer tournament, which begins Friday, would not be hampered by floods.
Flood risks along the Seine moved downstream over the weekend, AP reported: west of Paris late Saturday, the river overflowed around the medieval city of Rouen, but the local administration on Sunday said the damage was "localized and limited."
In Germany, AP reported, authorities ended an ongoing music festival west of Frankfurt after a new storm warning. A lightning storm Friday night sent 70 people to the hospital.
At least 18 people have died in flooding after a week of exceptionally heavy rains across France, Germany, Romania and Belgium. At least three people died in France, including a 74-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman.
Ségolène Royal, France’s environment minister, said she feared that more bodies would be found as waters receded in villages in central France, some of which have suffered their worst floods in a century. The Seine’s highest flood levels were recorded in 1910.
Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo
