Paris Lawre

Image copyright Getty Image caption Water level in Sene continues to rise

The Paris Louvre agreed to close for a visit on 2 and 3 June so that, in the event of severe flooding, museum staff would be able to move highly valuable exhibits to safe storage facilities.

"The museum will be closed for visitors tomorrow for precautionary reasons. There is no danger to visitors or museum staff, but at this time we will be able to move certain collections if such a need arises, it is stated in a message from the Museum Administration.

The northern part of France is raining, the level of water in Sene continues to rise. Previously, on Thursday, President François Olland said that a state of emergency would soon be declared in the most affected areas.

The floods in France have left over 5,000 people in the past few days. Tens of cities have been flooded.

With further increases in the Sene water level, according to the Paris authorities, one of the metro lines may be closed. Synoptics predict that a 10-day precipitation rate will soon fall in northern France.