Seine Reaches Peak in Paris

Workers pump water from the Javel railway station, flooded due to the high level of the Seine River in Paris. Ludovic Marin / AFP
Workers pump water from the Javel railway station, flooded due to the high level of the Seine River in Paris. Ludovic Marin / AFP
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Seine Reaches Peak in Paris

Workers pump water from the Javel railway station, flooded due to the high level of the Seine River in Paris. Ludovic Marin / AFP
Workers pump water from the Javel railway station, flooded due to the high level of the Seine River in Paris. Ludovic Marin / AFP

The swollen Seine peaked Monday at more than four meters above its normal level after nearly 1,500 people were forced to evacuate from their homes.

The river rose to 5.84 meters early Monday, causing continued headaches for commuters as well as people living near its overflowing banks.

The Vigicrues flooding watchdog said the river would stay at its current level throughout the day before beginning to recede Tuesday.

Around 1,500 people have been evacuated from their homes in the greater Paris region, according to police, while a similar number of homes remain without electricity.

"The waters will only go away slowly," said Michel Delpuech, head of the Paris police body.

Paris regional authorities say the floods have already caused damage in 240 towns.

Tourists also suffered with the capital's famous Bateaux Mouches rivercraft out of service, and only emergency services authorized to navigate the waterway.

The Seine did not quite reach the 2016 high of 6.1 meters, when priceless artworks had to be evacuated from the Louvre.

But the world's most visited museum was still on alert Sunday, along with the Musee d'Orsay and Orangerie galleries, with the lower level of the Louvre's Islamic arts wing closed to visitors at least until Monday.

A statue of an Algerian French army soldier from the Crimean War named Zouave that has guarded the river at the Pont d'Alma bridge in central Paris since 1910 was drenched up to the thighs in the muddy waters.

"Fluctuat nec mergitur (tossed but not sunk) but it's cooold," the Zouave statue tweeted from an account set up in its name by an anonymous admirer, using the Latin motto of the City of Paris.

Police again warned flooding aficionados against bathing or canoeing in the river, saying it was "forbidden and extremely dangerous".

More favorable weather is expected for the week ahead, but even once the water levels start to recede forecasters and officials say it will be a slow process, as much of the ground in northern France is already waterlogged.

Flooding caused destruction in Paris in 1910 when the Seine rose by 8.65 metres, although no deaths were recorded there.



Trump Threatens to Cut another $1 Billion in Harvard Funding

Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo)
Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo)
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Trump Threatens to Cut another $1 Billion in Harvard Funding

Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo)
Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo)

US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, as the administration's row with elite schools escalated.
The Trump administration has withheld government funding from Harvard, Columbia and other universities in response to their tolerance of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in what the administration has labeled a failure to control antisemitism on campus.
Harvard pushed back last week, rejecting demands for control of its student body, faculty and curriculum, saying that it would cede control of the university to the government.
Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school and the next day threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.
The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported the plans to pull an additional $1 billion in research funds arose after administration officials thought a long list of demands they sent Harvard on April 11 was a confidential starting point for negotiations, and officials were surprised when Harvard released the letter to the public.
Trump officials had been planning to treat Harvard more leniently than Columbia but now want to increase the pressure on Harvard, the Journal reported.
The White House and Harvard did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Sunday.
Since his January inauguration, Trump has cracked down on top US universities, saying they mishandled last year's pro-Palestinian protests and allowed antisemitism to intensify on campus. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza is wrongly conflated with antisemitism.
The administration had previously sent a list of demands on April 3 to Harvard for the Ivy League university to continue receiving federal funding. These included a mask ban, removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and more cooperation with law enforcement.
The April 11 letter, signed by officials at the Education Department, the Health and Human Services Department, and the General Services Administration, expanded that list. It told Harvard to stop recognizing some pro-Palestinian groups and asked it to report to federal authorities foreign students violating university policies, among other demands.