Deadly 'mini-tornado' kills one and injures nine near Paris
Emily Blumenthal
October 21, 2025 at 2:30 AM
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At least one person has been killed after a "mini-tornado" ripped through the northern suburbs of Paris.
The extreme winds began just before 6pm local time on Monday and affected about a dozen towns in the Val-d'Oise region.
Philippe Court, the head of the prefecture, declared the "violent, sudden windy episode" as a "mini-tornado".
The gusts were so strong they tore off roofs and toppled three cranes, including one which fell on a centre for disabled children and another on a house.
Videos posted on social media in Ermont showed cranes swaying violently in the wind before falling down, one after the other, as rocks and wood swirled through the air.
A 23-year-old man died at a private construction site where he was employed in Pontoise, a village about 19 miles (30km) north of Paris.
Although authorities could not give more information about the circumstances of his death, Mr Court said the victim was killed "in a construction area where the mini-tornado passed through".
The town of Pontoise has opened an investigation into possible manslaughter and unintentional workplace injury, and referred the matter to the Val-d'Oise police.
Nine people were injured during the storm, four of whom are in a critical condition.
Although tornadoes are common in France, with between 40 and 50 recorded each year, they normally fall in the two lowest categories of strength and rarely cause significant damage or loss of life.
The last major tornado was an EF4 intensity - the second highest possible - that occurred in 2008 in Hautmont near the border with Belgium.
Three people died in France during the 13 tornadoes during that period of severe weather which spanned four countries and caused millions of euros worth of damage.
France has for the past week experienced strong winds and rain due to a lingering anticyclonic weather system. Some towns in the south were pelted with a 10cm (4in) of rain in 24 hours, according to Météo France, the country's weather service.
French media reported the gales came with no warning by authorities.
One woman told Le Parisien: "On my way home, near Ermont, the sky suddenly turned grey. There was a storm. And suddenly, I saw a stunning whirlwind of leaves and a rainstorm fell on my car. I didn't see anything, it was like a wave was hitting me. The car shook. I stopped because I was afraid of the car keeling over."
Laurent Nunez, the French minister of the interior, said he was "following the situation closely" and offered support to emergency services and residents. He also expressed his condolences to the family of the man who died.
Val-d'Oise has deployed 150 firefighters, as well as medical personnel and police, and warned people to avoid wooded areas and places that have suffered damage, the prefecture said in a statement on social media.
Ermont, a village around 20km north of Paris that was hit hardest, has opened a gymnasium for residents left without shelter.
More than 1,500 homes were left without power, mostly in Ermont, and traffic disrupted due to fallen trees on the roads, French media reported.
The windy weather is expected to continue into Tuesday, with parts of the south-west of France set to see gales reaching 50-60 kilometres per hour.
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