Heavy snowfall has hit Paris and northern France, causing  severe travel disruptions.

Snow has halted bus services in the capital, and rail operator SNCF was forced to slow down trains on several of its high-speed TGV lines.

The weather caused turmoil to many citizens' daily routines, as numerous departments suspended school transport, while truck drivers in the southern Paris suburb of Essonne were forced to spend the night on the side of the road, after traffic was banned for vehicles weighing over 7.5 tonnes both there and in other parts of the wider Paris region.

Not everyone was put off by the snow however, with Parisians gathering to ski down the fresh snow in front of the Sacre-Coeur cathedral in Montmartre.