A city underwater: Haunting images of the Paris 1910 floods show the last time the French capital was submerged as it's warned River Seine could swell to 21 feet above its normal level 

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Stunning pictures of the 1910 Great Flood of Paris show the last time the French capital was submerged as it was warned that the River Seine could swell to 21 feet above its normal level.

Four people have been killed in floods which are devastating France, it has been confirmed, as Parisians battled with the worst flooding the city has seen in a century. 

The death total across Europe has now reached 18, following nearly a week of flooding, the French PM Manuel Valls confirmed.

And striking comparisons have been made with the Great Flood of 1910, which saw makeshift footbridges installed on the Seine as the city was submerged for over a month. 

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Parisians cross a footbridge that almost certainly would not meet 2016 EU Health and Safety regulations during the Great Flood of Paris in 1910

Many took to crossing the city by boat, and several men, women and children are seen rowing along the Rue du Maine

The inside of Paris' iconic Orsay station was completely submerged in the floods, which left many residents struggling for transportation around the French capital

The rain-swollen Seine in Paris receded Saturday for the first time in a week after nearing its highest level in three decades, triggering a scramble to save artworks in riverside museums.

The Seine stood at 6.06 metres (just under 20 feet) above normal levels at 8:00am (0400 GMT), down from a high of 6.10 metres overnight, the environment ministry's Vigicrues flood watch website said - but Parisians were warned that water could still reach up to 21 feet this weekend.

The level was the same as that recorded on Friday afternoon, when the river rose to levels last seen in 1982, prompting emergency measures.

The floods in 1910 saw tens of thousands of people evacuated from the city, but as the floodwaters raised incredibly gradually over several weeks, there was no loss of life. 

Just like in 2016, crowds gathered on bridges across the city to witness the rushing waters of the Seine which, at its peak, was eight metres above ordinary levels

Tens of thousands of Parisian people were evacuated from their homes in the Greet Flood of 1910

A special illustrated edition of Le Petit Parisien bearing a striking image of flooding in the city's tunnels

A view of the Alexandre III bridge in the centre of Paris shows how dangerously high the waters came during the Great Flood

Workers on the flooded river in Paris hurriedly dismantle scaffolding on the Seine as the flood waters finally began to recede

The Seine stood at 6.06 metres above normal levels at 8:00am French time, down from a high of 6.10 metres overnight, but flood recovery efforts are still in their early stages

French police officers on a rescue boat patrol past a flooded building on the edge of the Seine River, near Notre-Dame Cathedral

A diver from Paris fire brigade removes garbage on the flooded banks of the river Seine on Saturday

The flooding has caused the French capital to go into lockdown, with many of its famed museums closed and part of the underground system closed

The famed Louvre and Orsay museums shut their doors in a race to move art treasures from their basements, some metro stations were closed and Parisians were advised to stay away from the Seine.

Seine tourist cruises have also been cancelled until further notice, along with Metro stations such as St Michel, close to Notre Dame Cathedral.

Many of the fabled walkways along the banks of the Seine have also been closed, with workmen hurriedly removing scaffolding that had been used to renovate boats as it began to disappear under water.

But by Saturday, as authorities were counting the cost of over a week of flooding in central and northern France, the spectre of devastating floods in the city had begun to ebb.

Mr Valls said the water level of the Seine is now falling 'slowly but steadily' in Paris and added several ministerial meetings next week will make sure quick financial help is provided to those affected.

He also urged Paris visitors and residents 'to observe safety precautions' since many have been walking along the Seine's overflowing banks to observe the rare phenomena.

'We're now in the stabilisation phase, even if we could still get one or two centimetres more,' said Bruno Janet, head of modelling at Vigicrues.

The environment ministry on Friday forecast that the Seine would remain high throughout the weekend - but still far off a 1910 record of 8.62 metres - before starting to subside.

The statue of Zouave under the Pont d'Alma was still partially submerged under the rushing flood waters in the Seine on Saturday

The rain-swollen River Seine in Paris reached its highest level in three decades Friday, spilling its banks. Residents are pictured being rescued in Nemours, Paris

Days of torrential rain have only added to the gloomy atmosphere in France, also facing a third full day of train strikes after months of protests and political turmoil

Parisians have been advised to stay as far from the River Seine as possible but crowds have gathered on various bridges across the city

The view of the River Seine near Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday after its banks flooded

Driftwood, signs and furniture have been seen floating down the River Seine as Paris entered yet another day of flooding

An abandoned car sits in flood waters in Paris but the river levels are finally receding

President of the Ile-de-France Region Valerie Pecresse visits the the railway tracks of the RER C line after the floods In Paris

Across Europe, at least 17 people have been killed in floods that have trapped people in their homes and forced rescuers to row lifeboats down streets turned into rivers.

The City of Paris said it had opened two gyms to provide shelter for the homeless.

On Saturday, pieces of driftwood, plastic bags and other flotsam swirled in the muddy waters which had inundated the city's famous tree-lined riverside walkways, a popular haunt of strolling couples.

Firefighters warned people to keep away from dangerous parts of the river, but crowds gathered undeterred on Pont Neuf and other iconic bridges to snap pictures of the fast-flowing waters.

Water leaks on the closed railway tracks of the RER C line after the floods

Traffic in the capital was snarled as flooding choked roads and several Paris railway stations were shut. The country's environment ministry said the Seine had not reached such levels since 1982

A Paris subway train passes on the Viaduc d'Austerlitz bridge on Saturday above the Seine river

'It is a reminder that nature is more powerful than man and we cannot do anything, only wait,' said Gabriel Riboulet, a 26-year-old entrepreneur, as he took in the scene.

A small number of basement flats in the capital were flooded on Friday and a campsite in the Bois de Boulogne forest in the west of the capital was cleared but there was no order yet for any Parisians to evacuate.

Several metro stations were closed and workers piled sandbags on platforms to hold back the water.

Boat traffic has been suspended in the capital, as has a regional train line that runs along the Seine.

French President Francois Hollande said a state of 'natural catastrophe' would be declared when the cabinet meets next Wednesday, a necessary step to trigger compensation payments.

Losses across France could reach more than 600 million euros ($680 million), said Bernard Spitz of France's association of insurers.

The head of national railways operator SNCF said the rail network had suffered 'catastrophic' damage which would run to tens of millions of euros.

Debris and furniture floated down the Seine following the devastating floods

Rescue workers from the French 'Securite Civile' on small boats attend an evacuation operation for residents of the edge of the Seine river in Juvisy-sur-Orge, near Paris yesterday

Ten people have been killed in Germany and two in Romania, while a bee-keeper died in Belgium while trying to protect his hives from the floods, local authorities in the Nassogne region said

Persistently heavy rainfall across western and central Europe has swollen rivers and claimed victims from at least four countries.

Eleven people have been killed in the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg, and two in Romania, while a beekeeper died in Belgium while trying to save his hives.

In France, a man on horseback drowned on Thursday after being swept away by a swollen river in Evry-Gregy-sur-Yerres, southeast of Paris.

At Montargis in the north-central Loiret region, police also said they had found the body of a woman in her sixties who had apparently drowned.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal said she feared more bodies would be found as waters receded in villages in central France, some of which have suffered their worst floods in a century.

More than 20,000 people have been evacuated since the weekend and around 18,000 homes are without power.

The French energy company Enedis said over 17,000 homes were still without electricity on Saturday in the Paris region and central France.

One of the Seine's tributaries had not seen water levels this high since 1910, when the Great Flood of Paris swamped the capital.

Residents and helpers clean up their neigborhood following the recent flood damage in Simbach am Inn, southern Germany,

Torrential rainfalls in various regions of Germany in the previous days had resulted in flash floods and mud slides and cost the lives of at least seven people while causing also severe damage to homes and infrastructure

France's meteorological service said high flood alerts remained in effect in 14 regions, mostly in central and western France, including Paris.

Although the rain tapered off in some areas, there was a chance of floods over the weekend downstream along the Seine in Normandy.

Boats and barges docked in Paris were being carefully watched to ensure none would cast off their moorings.

Nicolas Hainsohn, a boathouse resident on the Seine, said the situation was usual but added 'it's just water.'

'We are used to this. We've seen it once or twice,' he said.

'It's tricky to dock, because you need to follow the water flow, you have to be careful, otherwise you can hit the river bank.'

 On opposite banks of the river, the Louvre and Orsay museums, which receive a combined total of 12.5 million visitors a year, closed their doors Friday so that artworks could be moved to higher floors.Hollande paid a visit Friday to the Louvre, where dozens of volunteers were working to move some of the 38,000 artworks thought to be at risk to higher floors.

The museum said it would remain closed until Wednesday, while the Orsay, which houses a world-renowned collection of 19th and early 20th century art, said it would reopen Tuesday.

The Grand Palais exhibition centre also shut Friday, as did two of the National Library's sites.

Eva Palomares, a holidaymaker from the Italian city of Milan, said she was disappointed to be unable to visit the Louvre but added: 'The star today is the Seine. You have to feel its angry rumble.'

The downpours have added to the gloom in France, where public morale has been hit by months of protests and strikes over a labour reform bill which were still gripping the country less than a week before it begins hosting the Euro 2016 football championships.