At least 19,000 municipalities across France experienced poor television connection on Thursday, with viewers reporting that their TVs randomly cutting out, going static, or simply displaying an error message on the screen.

The problems began on Tuesday and Pierre, a resident of the Côtes-d’Armor département in Brittany told Le Parisien that his television “cuts out after 10 minutes.”

“We’re almost getting better reception from the English channels”, Pierre told the French media.

Much of France’s Atlantic and Channel coastlines have experienced connection issues with their televisions, as well as parts of the Rhône Valley and Burgundy.

⚠️📺Perturbation de la #TNT dans une partie de la France suite à un phénomène météorologique particulier, des conditions de propagation radioélectrique spécifiques peuvent engendrer des difficultés de réception de la télévision hertzienne. pic.twitter.com/Q7wc9o4kzt

— Recevoir la TNT 📺 (@RecevoirLaTNT) October 10, 2023

Le Parisien reported that the households affected are those who use an antenna on their roof (with service via ‘digital terrestrial television’ or DTT), rather than those who have internet-based TV services. 

The French media estimated that up to 39 million people in France could be affected. 

You can download the list of affected communes here. 

According to the French government website, Recevoirlatnt.fr, the issue, which reportedly began on Tuesday in some parts of the country, was not expected to extend beyond Thursday.

According to Recevoir la TNT in a press release published on Tuesday, the issue has been caused by a “natural phenomenon linked to current weather conditions.”

It added that TV reception can disrupted during certain weather conditions, specifically during “periods of unusual heat or sudden changes in temperature.”