Many regions including Dordogne, Loire and Limousin were hit by the storms, that come amid a month of continued wild weather for the country.
In France's Loire region, many residents have been forced out of their homes after houses and cars were pummelled by hail stones the size of tennis balls, fracturing rooves and smashing windows.
In the country's centre, hails storms have also left parts of the agriculture industry in tatters, with corn and wheat crops stripped in towns like Augueperse in the region of Puy-de-Dome.
In Dordogne at Marcillac-Saint-Quentin, two holiday makers narrowly escaped their caravan before a tree fell on it, crushing its roof.
One image, published by television news channel France 2, captures the violent effects of an electric storm that hit Correze and Millau, showing the moment that six poles of a cable bridge simultaneously conducted bolts of electricity.
That storm has damaged electricity networks, leaving more than a thousand homes without power.
Flooding has also occured in parts of Grand-Ouevilly, Seien Maritime, with water reaching the tops of car rooves forcing many drivers to abandon their vehicles.
The freak weather has left many questioning the whereabouts of summer, with reports a calmer weather system is expected in the second half of this month.
