BULGARIA: A snowstorm on Friday wreaked havoc on Bulgarian road traffic and forced the closure of the Sofia airport and the Black Sea port Varna, local reports said. Authorities had to close the airport to clean the landing strip of deposited snow, while in Varna it was the gale-force wind, coupled with a 10-15-centimetre layer of snow. The main highway linking the capital with Burgas on the Black Sea coast was impassable in some parts because of snow drifts and several villages lost the power supply, the national radio said.
FRANCE: France on Thursday deployed armoured vehicles on key roads around Paris as the capital braced for another snowstorm, a week after the city was paralysed by the heaviest snowfall in almost 25 years. Gendarmes positioned 16 armoured vehicles on highways to prevent a repeat of incidents last week that saw thousands of motorists either spending the night awaiting help or abandoning their cars.
