73-year-old man found dead in flood-hit car in western France

A 73-year-old man has been found dead in his partly-submerged car in France's western Loire-Atlantique region.

It is the first fatality confirmed during this period of prolonged flooding in the north and the west of the country.

Hundreds of people have had to be moved to safety in the past days as the wet weather continues.

On Thursday, the Green Transition Minister Christophe Bechu and government spokesman Olivier Veran visited areas impacted by the flooding.

Bechu was asked during his trip if places that are frequently affected by flooding should be declared uninhabitable, and the minister told French media that "the subject should not be taboo."

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Emergency services have been rescuing residents this week from some towns, especially in the northern French department of Pas de Calais, while others have relied on local farmers to help out using tractors.

The situation in northern France comes just six weeks after rivers burst their banks in November.

'We're scared'

Some residents are starting to lose patience with the persistent wet weather.

"The first time, I thought it was just bad luck," said Anthony Richevin. "But now, experiencing this again, it's starting to hurt, be it in terms of our morale or in terms of our budget. We ask ourselves how we'll get through this."

Josiane Trippier said "we haven't slept in three nights, we are tired and fed up, and then well, it's always the same thing, cleaning.

"And now we're always scared as soon as it rains, we're scared, we can now see the river even in the middle of the night. We're scared."

The River Laita, in Brittany, broke its banks this week after the remnants of Storm Henk which hit the UK also swept across France's Channel coasts.

Thousands of homes have been left without power and regions across the north of France are still on amber and red alert for flooding.

On January 3, the European Union granted assistance to France from its Civil Protection Mechanism to mobilize emergency support to deal with the effects of the flooding.

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