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The French police temporarily blocked the access to the motorway (symbol picture)
Photo: Clement Mahoudeau / AFP
The first Advent brought French motorists up to 30 centimeters of fresh snow on the motorway between Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand - and with it came contemplation and peace.
Unfortunately, probably in the wrong place: On Sunday evening, hundreds of cars were stuck on a section of the A89 for hours until after midnight because of the snowfall.
The traffic came to a standstill, the operating company of the motorway distributed water.
At noon, a section of the motorway was closed due to snowfall.
In the afternoon the situation had initially improved, at around half past six the next blockage followed, traffic came to a complete standstill.
Pictures and videos of people walking on the autobahn and walking their dogs were circulating on Twitter.
"People were doing their business on the side of the road, someone even asked us about a corkscrew," said a woman who was stuck in a traffic jam, the French newspaper "La Montagne".
Another said she saw people make a snowman.
Traffic started flowing again around midnight.
"12:20 am: After a six-hour blockade, we finally left the autobahn!" Wrote one of the victims on Twitter.
The operator of the motorway reported that traffic had been back to normal since six in the morning.
has / dpa
