March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, as the saying goes. And people in southern France and north-eastern Spain will certainly be hoping this is true, after the worst snowfalls for decades.

Hundreds of motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles on the French motorway. The lucky ones finding emergency accommodation in hotels or sports halls.

Thousands of passengers also spent the night sleeping on their trains on the French side of the blizzard-hit border.

The autoroute remains closed between France and Spain at Perthus and La Jonquera on the border. Snow ploughs are working to clear it.

It has not snowed like this in Barcelona for 25 years, with almost a metre falling on high ground. Electricity was cut off for 200 000 customers in and around Gerona after the snow brought down powerlines.

But in Barcelona, the sun has belatedly begun its work and much of the wintry covering has now melted away.

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