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Southern France on alert as Storm Boris rolls in

Parts of the south of France have been placed on a weather alert as Storm Boris - which caused devastation and at least 18 deaths in Europe over the weekend - is predicted to hit.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:55 CEST

Southern France on alert as Storm Boris rolls in

Storm Boris caused severe flooding on Austria over the weekend. Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP

The storm hit central Europe over the weekend causing torrential rain and floods in countries including Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic and causing the death of 18 people.

It is predicted to move to northern Italy on Tuesday, with areas of southern France expected to be affected by high winds, heavy rain and possible localised flooding.

Five départements along France’s Mediterranean coast are currently under an orange weather alert – they are Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône.

The island of Corsica is also on orange alert.

Météo France predicts that the storms will hit Corsica on Tuesday morning and then move north towards mainland France, striking in the evening.

Central and southern France are not expected to experience any extreme weather, but they are predicted to remain cloudy with possible rain on Tuesday.

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Latest: French easyJet staff call for 'unlimited' strike action

The union UNAC, which represents staff at the UK-based budget airline, has filed a three-month strike notice, starting on Monday, September 16th.

EasyJet announced last week that it was closing its hub in Toulouse, south-west France.

The move will affect around 125 staff who are based there – but will not have any impact on flights going to or from Toulouse, the company said. EasyJet will continue to run the same routes from Toulouse, including daily flights to the UK.

However the announcement was met with fury by the UNAC union, which described the announcement as “brutal” and “without any prior discussions or consultation process”.

The union filed a strike notice for ‘unlimited’ action beginning on Monday, September 16th.

However, it later clarified that walk-outs would be periodic, on dates still to be announced during the three-month period until December 16th.

A union official told French TV channel BFM: “We are not simply calling for an indefinite strike, as we will be communicating key dates later. Negotiations start on September 16th, and will last around three months.”

Depending on how negotiations go, strike days may be announced at a later date, although it seems unlikely that easyJet will be pressured into rowing back on the hub closure.

The SNPNC union, which is the largest union representing easyJet workers, confirmed over the weekend that it would not be calling on its members to strike – which means that even if strikes do go ahead, their impact will be limited.

SNPNC head William Bourdon said: “Look, it’s likely that the base closure will go ahead. The UNAC call is for national action, but we have to be honest, I can’t see colleagues in Nice going on strike to support colleagues in Toulouse.”

He added that the SNPNC position on strike action may change if easyJet announced further closures.

We will update our strike section when we know more.

Bertrand Godinot, the easyJet director for France said in a press release that the decision to close the hub was based on “a combination of factors, including a slower post-Covid recovery as well as pressure due to inflation, which have impacted easyJet’s ability to invest more in France.”

Unions say that high airport charges at Toulouse are also to blame.

In total, easyJet employs 1,800 people in France, under French work contracts, and it is anticipated that most of the Toulouse staff will transfer to other bases.

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