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The Seine swallowed its own quayside walkways
earlier in the week and rose too high for Paris's riverboats to
pass underneath the ancient bridges that ring Notre Dame
cathedral.
Tourists and locals were advised to steer clear of the banks for
fear of being caught by swirling water, and barges moored to the
submerged quaysides appeared as if stranded in the middle of a
vastly wider river.
Six train stations located near the river, including St Michel
in the Latin Quarter that draws many tourists, have also been
forced to shut.
The Louvre, the world's largest museum whose treasures include
Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and the Venus de Milo statue,
decided to shut its basement gallery as a protective measure
because a large part of the building borders the Seine.
It did not say whether it was moving artworks from the area.
"A crisis unit is monitoring the situation in real time," the
Louvre said in a statement.
It noted that no damage was incurred in 2016, when similar
measures were taken for fear of water damage to exhibits.
Forecasters predicted further flooding could lift the river by 6
meters (yards) or more in total. With the water level rising one
to two centimeters per hour, the river had hit 5.24 meters at 1
p.m. (1200 GMT/0800 EST) on Wednesday.
Crunch-time is expected on Friday or Saturday, following more
heavy rainfall forecast for Thursday.
Flooding caused destruction in Paris in 1910, when the Seine
rose by 8.65 meters, a level that was topped only once on
record, in February 1658.
(Reporting by Julie Carriat; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by
Gareth Jones)
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