The floods in France, which hare caused some loss of
life, great distress to the poor, grave disturbance of traffic, and immense damage to property, have attained the pro- portions of a national disaRter. In Paris, where the level of the Seine has risen to a height equal to that of the flood of 1764, historic bridges and monuments are menaced, the tele- phone, electric light, and tram services hare been disorganised, and the underground, suburban, and main-line railway traffic dislocated. The Invalides railway-station is flooded up to the skylights, and the scene along the quays near the Foreign Office "is as if the Thames were lapping over the wall of the Embankment and also emerging in swirling eddies from the skylights and the doors of Charing Cross, the Temple, and Blackfriars Underground railway-stations, the whole Under- ground line being flooded to the brim." The suburbs have suffered most, some fifty thousand people having been driven from their homes, but in Central Paris half the streets and squares are under water, and the aspect of the streets and populace is compared with that of the early days of the siege of 1670-7L Large relief funds are being raised, and we are glad to note that the question of a British fund has been raised in the City. The Times correspondent reminds as that the motto of Paris is Fluctuat nee mergitur, and adds that the inhabitants have been sorely put to it to live up to that proud boast.
Previous page
