The lowest temperatures were recorded in Champagne, where they fell to -9 degrees Celsius, while the frost affected almost the entire country, with the exception of intramural Paris and the Mediterranean coasts and the English Channel.
"The frost affected more than 90% of the country and was more or less intense depending on the area," Météo France forecaster Patrick Galois told AFP, "there was a rapid drop in temperatures during the night but it heats up quickly."
Records have been broken in particular in Mourmelon (Marne, -9.3 degrees), Châteauroux (Indre, -5.6 degrees) or even in Vannes (Morbihan, -3.2 degrees).
"As soon as the sun rises, the temperatures will rise and should be positive almost everywhere around 10 a.m.," added Mr. Galois.
According to Météo France, the layer of very fresh, very thin air dissipates quickly with the appearance of the sun and requires relatively little energy to be reduced.
The weather forecasting body also stressed that it should be the last cold night for the coming weeks.
In anticipation of this particularly cold night, the electricity network manager RTE had warned of a potential tense situation on Monday morning, calling on companies and individuals to curb consumption, in particular between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.
In the agricultural world, winegrowers and market gardeners in particular have tried to best protect the buds, and therefore future harvests, which are particularly sensitive to these spring frosts.
© 2022 AFP