Strong winds of up to 148 kph battered France on Friday, cutting power to some 300,000 homes, bringing down trees around the country and killing a man in the capital, French authorities said. The 50-year-old died when an advertising board blew over and fell on top of him in central Paris. Two other people were injured in the incident.

The Paris authorities ordered all parks, gardens and cemeteries to be closed until the end of the storm. Electricity firm said it would restore power in most areas by Friday evening, although homes in the western Vendee region would have to wait until Saturday afternoon.

Meteo France, the French national weather service, said winds had reached between 110 and 148 kph in coastal regions on Friday and 110-122 kph in the interior.

It said the strongest winds were expected in the south and southwest before the depression which caused the winds left France around the region of Calais in the north.
(Planet Ark, 11/12/2006)