France, Jan. 6 -- Public weather forecasterMeteo-France has placed 38 French departments on orange alert for Wednesday.

Although followed by a thaw, the phenomenon "will bring snow and, locally, freezing rain to a large part of the north of the country," it said.

At Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport - the main airport for long-haul services - 40 percent of scheduled flights between 9.00 am (08.00 GMT) and 2:00 pm will be cancelled to allow staff time to remove snow from runways and de-ice planes, France's transport minister Philippe Tabarot said Tuesday in a press conference.

At Orly airport, 25 percent of flights will be cancelled between 6:00 am and 1:00 pm for similar reasons, he added. Road travel

Tabarot "strongly" advised avoidin...