France restricts public alcohol consumption, outdoor sports as heat wave bakes parts of Europe

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - June 21, 2026 05:18 pm IST - Paris A woman with a hand fan stands on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a second heatwave affecting a large part of France. | Photo Credit: Reuters France is putting emergency services and military forces on wildfire alert, restricting public alcohol consumption and cancelling some outdoor sports events to cope with a heat wave unfurling across parts of Europe. About a third of France is under the national weather service's heat red alert on Sunday (June 21, 2026) and temperatures are high nationwide, expected to reach 40°C on Sunday (June 21) in some areas, in a country where air-conditioning isn't widespread. The forecast for Monday (June 22) is even hotter. The Eiffel Tower and other Paris venues set up misting stations to cool crowds, among a raft of measures announced by national and local authorities to minimize risks. More than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the last four years, and most of the fatalities were preventable, the World Health Organisation's Europe office said this month. More above-average temperatures are expected this summer, which can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. WHO's Europe office called for countries and institutions to implement heat plans, such as opening cooling centres, or introducing breaks or flexible shifts that enable workers to stay out of the midday sun. France's annual Music Day on Sunday (June 21) is a particular concern for authorities. The nationwide summer solstice celebration involves thousands of concerts in village squares, rave venues and Paris clubs, bringing communities together and increasingly drawing international visitors. The government ordered organisers of music day events to limit alcohol use to “preserve emergency services and allow medics to concentrate on taking care of the most vulnerable.” Authorities are notably worried about people living in the baking streets, and elderly people in nursing homes or isolated in their homes. About 15,000 older people died in a 2003 heat wave that became a reckoning for France. The government announced on Saturday (June 20) reinforced wildfire readiness and ordered tightened surveillance of water supplies to France's many nuclear reactors. Schools will only be closed as a last recourse, the government said, though end-of-year exams held in the afternoons may be delayed until the following morning or otherwise rearranged. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened a government heat crisis meeting on Saturday (June 20) and plans another one on Sunday (June 21), in the face of what the national weather service called a “widespread, long-lasting and intense” hot spell. Mr. Lecornu ordered government ministers to plan for better adapting France to heat waves in the future — including “via air conditioning, if necessary. France / Europe / heatwave / weather / weather news Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

France restricts public alcohol consumption, outdoor sports as heat wave bakes parts of Europe

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France restricts public alcohol consumption, outdoor sports as heat wave bakes parts of Europe

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