PARIS - HUNDREDS of passenger were stranded on Monday at the main Paris airport of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle by snow after scores of flights were cancelled.

Some '1,658 people will be accommodated by Air France on Monday evening in hotels at the airport hub at Roissy after the cancellation of 120 Air France flights of the 400 scheduled since the beginning of Monday afternoon, mainly to European destinations but also some long haul services', the airline said.

Passengers waiting for flights 'will have available food and hot drinks' at the end of a day described as 'difficult' by Air France.

The Paris airports authority said passengers should ring their airlines to see if their flights were operating and said some might not leave Monday evening.

Traffic at Roissy and the second Paris airport at Orly was due to return to normal Monday evening.

Northern, central and western France were hit by snow and freezing rain during Monday, causing accidents, one fatal. Weather services warned that the thermometer would fall further during the week as icy air arrived from Siberia and Scandinavia.

Temperatures could fall to between minus five and minus 10 centigrade in the north and northeast, forecasters said. The cold snap could last until the middle of the month in much of the country.

National elecricity consumption hit a record peak early on Monday evening.

In the Paris, area transport authorities had to suspend some bus services as snow and freezing rain made roads impassable. At one point, heavy goods traffic moving towards Paris was limited. -- AFP