Severe storms leave 53,000 French homes without power overnight
10:35, 17/07/2026, FridayU: Update: 10:35, 17/07/2026, Friday
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Around 53,000 households in France were left without power after severe thunderstorms swept across several regions. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine areas were the worst hit, with damage including fallen trees, damaged roofs and a house fire caused by a lightning strike.
Intense thunderstorms swept across multiple regions of France overnight, leaving approximately 53,000 households without electricity, according to local broadcaster BFM TV, citing power distributor Enedis. The outages were concentrated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions, which accounted for 25,000 and 20,000 of the affected customers respectively.
Widespread Damage and Disruption
The storms brought strong winds, large hail and lightning strikes to several departments, including Loire, Isère, Haute-Savoie and Corrèze. In Loire, firefighters responded to 422 emergencies after roofs were damaged and trees fell onto roads. A house in Haute-Savoie caught fire after being struck by lightning, while regional train services between Lyon and Roanne remained disrupted on Friday.
Impact on Public Events
In Corrèze, strong winds forced the cancellation of a concert at the Lovely Brive Festival, while the Keraunos observatory recorded around 3,000 lightning strikes across the Limousin region over the previous 24 hours. All remaining orange thunderstorm warnings were lifted on Friday after the storms moved east, but the disruptions add to recent challenges for France, which has faced extreme heat and wildfires in recent weeks.