Death toll from flooding in France rises to 4

Flooding caused by days of torrential rain has claimed the lives of four people in France after the water level of River Seine around the capital, Paris, hit its highest in about 35 years.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls released the death toll on Saturday following a meeting at a government crisis center. Two dozen people have also been injured, the premier said.

The Seine receded on Sunday and attention turned to other areas of France where alert warnings have been issued. The river, which runs through Paris, rose about 4.5 meters (15 feet) above average early Saturday.

More than 20,000 people have been evacuated over the past week from the Loire Valley and the greater Paris area.

According to Bernard Spitz of France's association of insurers, nationwide losses could reach more than 600 million euros ($680 million).

The head of national railways operator SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, said the rail network had suffered "catastrophic" damage which would run to tens of millions of euros.

French Environment Minister Segolene Royal announced a major flood exercise in coming weeks based on flooding on the scale of the 1910 calamity, when the river rose 8.62 meters in Paris.

Earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande declared a “natural disaster” in Paris after the Seine burst its banks and swept through the city.

The French energy company Enedis said more than 17,000 homes were still without electricity in Paris and central France. A number of railway and subway stations were also closed in Paris city center.

Authorities have temporarily shut the Louvre museum, the Orsay museum, the national library and the Grand Palais.

The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, said it will not reopen until June 8, with its curators having moved some 250,000 artworks from flood-risk areas, mostly in basement storerooms, to safer places.

France's meteorological service said high flood alerts remained in effect in 15 regions, mostly in central and western France.

France, Germany, Romania and Belgium are among the European countries, where nearly a week of heavy rainfall had led to serious flooding, with the total death toll standing at 18.

Floods trapped people in their homes, felled trees and power lines, cut off roads and rail lines and forced rescuers to navigate swamped streets in lifeboats. 

Extraordinary weather in France comes as the country hosts the Euro 2016 football tournament in a few days.

France has also been struggling with violent demonstrations and strikes since March over the government-proposed labor reforms.

The Socialist government argues that the reforms are aimed at curbing the unemployment rate, but protesters and trade unions say Paris wants to make it easier and less costly for employers to lay off workers.

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