(Bloomberg) -- Insurance executives meet with governmentofficials in Paris Monday to assess the cost of flooding in the Centreand Ile-de-France regions as the Seine river recedes from itshighest levels in more than three decades.

The river flowing through the French capital was 5.5 meters (18feet) above its normal level at 6 p.m. Sunday after reaching at6.10 meters at 2 a.m. on Saturday, according to Vigicrues, theFrench floods watchdog. Last week the Seine was near to the6.18-meter mark reached in 1982, according to data from theEnvironment & Energy Ministry.

“We have to be cautious but the cost may be much higher” thanthe 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) reported by French media Sunday,Juliette Meadel, the minister overseeing relief for victims, saidlate Sunday on France 3 television. “We want to meet with them tohave a response that fits the gravity of the situation.”

Meadel, who is meeting with insurers at her Paris office Monday,called for fair and quick compensation for those affected by theflooding. In an interview with RTL radio Sunday, Finance MinisterMichel Sapin said the natural disaster won’t dent the Frencheconomy.

The floodwaters are receding as strikes that have disruptedtransport across the country begin to abate. Fifty-four percent ofrespondents said they want to see an end to the protests againstgovernment plans to overhaul labor rules in a BVA poll publishedSunday by I-tele and Orange. Three weeks ago, a majority supportedindustrial action.

Costs of flooding

All ministers and senior officials involved in responding to thefloods met with the Prime Minister Manuel Valls early Monday.Following the talks, Valls said the government will create anemergency fund for victims to help them immediately “for those wholost everything,” Agence France-Presse reported.

The cabinet probably will declare the floods a “naturaldisaster” as soon as June 8 at its weekly meeting, opening the wayfor insurer payments, President Francois Hollande said Sunday onFrance Inter radio.

The French insurance-industry association AFA estimated thecosts may reach 600 million euros ($682 million) on June 3.Maif, one of France’s biggest insurance companies,said expenses may be as much as 2 billion euros, the Figaro dailyreported.

The French railway system is facing a sixth day of strikes onMonday. Local and regional trains are suffering severe delays,though services to the U.K., Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands andSwitzerland are running well, according to operator SNCF.

Hollande said that disruption to the transport system would beover by the time the Euro 2016 international soccer tournamentbegins across France on June 10.

“No one would understand if strikes on trains or planesprevented spectators from attending their games,” Hollandesaid on French Radio. “The competition will run well.”

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.