"Attacked by the sea," announces the front-page of Libération, which quotes one of the survivors of the storm known as Xynthia, which killed approximately 50 people in western France on the night of the 27 February. The storm, which was the most violent to strike the country since 1999 (92 fatalities), brought "freak tides, which breached sea walls." Elsewhere "torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks, while 130kph winds uprooted trees, tore away roof tops, and prompted power cuts and delays in air and rail services… " reports the daily. Libération draws a parallel with the earthquake in Chile, which occurred almost at the same time, and notes that the impact of both disasters was limited by "the existence of a stable and responsible state, which forbids the construction of substandard buildings, and employs well organized rescue services. The Chileans, like the French, should be thankful for the fact that they live in countries with plenty of competent civil servants."
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