Residents of the French capital Paris have been photographed skiing on the city's iconic Montmartre hilltop as much of Europe has been engulfed in a burst of snow, ice and freezing temperatures, resulting in long lines on roads, heavy disruption to flights and, in some cases, deaths.

Two drivers were killed near Paris, one in a collision and another after driving into a river, and there were three more deaths and 15 injuries from road accidents caused by the weather conditions in the Landes region in the southwest of the country.

National weather forecasting agency Meteo France said 38 of the country's 96 mainland regions, known as departments, had been put on alert for heavy snow and black ice, which makes driving particularly treacherous. The sudden cold snap was of "rare intensity for the season", it said.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot urged people to make as few road journeys as possible, and where they could, to work from home.

Up to 40 percent of flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport were expected to be canceled on Wednesday, and 20 percent from the city's second airport, Orly, to allow the de-icing of planes, and the clearance of runways.

Travel difficulties

Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam was also badly affected, which compounded travel difficulties already being caused by a major IT failure affecting many railway services across the Netherlands, which at one stage brought the entire rail network to a halt.

"We haven't experienced such extreme weather conditions in years," Anoesjka Aspeslagh, a spokeswoman for Dutch airline KLM, told Reuters.

Parts of southern and eastern Germany have recorded temperatures of minus 10 C, with areas in the north braced for a major snowstorm expected later in the week.

Travel has been affected and some schools closed in the United Kingdom. In Italy, in addition to some areas reporting snow, others in central and southern parts of the country have suffered torrential rain.

The Balkan region, in central-southern Europe, has also been affected, with heavy snow and rain causing rivers to swell, and some areas suffering power cuts.

A woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Sarajevo, was killed when a snow-laden tree branch fell on her head, and Serbia, where many locals will be celebrating the Orthodox Church Christmas this week, has also been affected, while coastal areas in Montenegro and Croatia have experienced fierce storms.

Spain's popular Costa del Sol holiday resort has also been suffering, with a separate weather system causing huge floods, and warnings that snow could follow.