The elements have also led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, leaving thousands of travelers waiting at airports in Paris and Amsterdam.
In France, three people died in two separate incidents in the Landes department in the southwest of the country due to icy conditions. Additionally, two people were victims of traffic accidents in the Paris region. One of the collisions occurred between a car and a truck in the eastern part of the capital, according to police reports.
The other incident took place when a taxi lost control due to snow, crashed into a curb, and fell into the Marne River, according to media reports.
Snowfalls and heavy rains are also being observed in the Balkans. In the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, a woman died on Monday when a tree covered in wet snow fell on her, local law enforcement reported.
Philippe Tabaro, France's Minister of Transport, warned of possible new snowfalls on Tuesday night and Wednesday. He urged the public to limit travel as much as possible and to work from home.
The National Meteorological Service of France noted that on Wednesday, 38 departments of the country would be placed on orange alert due to snowfall and icy conditions, resulting in many train services being canceled.
In Paris, authorities reported that approximately 40% of flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport would be canceled on Wednesday morning to clear the runways of snow. Orly Airport also planned to cancel a quarter of its flights during the same period.
At Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, more than 400 flights were canceled on Wednesday.
Hundreds of passengers found themselves stranded, many unable to catch connecting flights. Long lines formed at airline counters, and people waited for information on the resumption of flights.
Many of the canceled flights were operated by the Dutch airline KLM, which reported a shortage of de-icing fluid for aircraft and explained the situation as being due to "extreme" weather conditions and supply delays.
Passengers at Schiphol Airport complained about long queues and a lack of information.
Javier Sepulveda, a Spanish passenger trying to fly from Amsterdam to Norway, told Reuters that the situation at the airport was "chaotic, unacceptable, and completely intolerable." He noted that he had been waiting in line at the KLM support desk since 6:30 AM local time on Tuesday and was still far from the front of the line after six hours.
Schiphol Airport stated that "snow removal teams are working around the clock to keep the runways operational, and aircraft are undergoing thorough de-icing to ensure passenger safety."
According to the Dutch broadcaster NOS, an additional 600 flights scheduled to depart from Schiphol on Wednesday were also canceled.
Rail services were also affected.
On Tuesday morning, train services in the Netherlands were completely halted for a short time due to an IT system failure. Some trains resumed service after 9:00 AM, but problems persisted throughout the day. Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris were either canceled or delayed.
