Winter

1956

France experienced an exceptionally mild early winter, causing an early sap rise in local flora, before a Siberian cold snap paralyzed the country, which recorded some of the lowest temperatures in its recent history. The Seine and the Rhône froze over, and even the port of Marseille was gripped by ice. The olive trees of Provence literally shattered from the cold. It was a true disaster: in just one month, over four million olive trees were lost.