Storms in France cause flooding, 2 deaths and a leak in parliament

PARIS (AP) — Torrential storms in France caused two deaths, flooded Paris streets and created a leak in parliament’s roof that interrupted a prime minister’s speech.

“Have you noticed that it was raining?” Prime Minister François Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly’s leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening.

The assembly vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate so fire officers could check out the problem. When he restarted the session about 15 minutes later, Lescure told lawmakers that absorbent mats were used to patch up the leak.

Seventeen people were injured, one critically. The French civil defense agency said the storm, which broadly swept France after a heat wave, also cut power to 110,000 homes.

A falling tree killed a 12-year-old child in southwest France and a man died when his quad-bike hit a toppled tree in the northwest, French media reported.