France hosts street music festival despite worsening heatwave

PARIS: France went ahead with its annual street music festival on Sunday in a boiling heatwave, with a third of the country on red alert and alcohol consumption banned in the streets.

In a first, the red alert — France’s highest heat warning — was issued across half the country for Monday, as temperatures under the fierce heatwave were expected to climb further.

Thirty-five departments — roughly a third of the country — were under the highest heat alert on Sunday. On Monday, that number will grow to 49 departments, a new record, with another 40 under orange alert.

According to AFP estimates, more than 90 percent of France’s population — more than 63 million people — will be affected by the heat on Monday.

“We are facing an episode that is particularly intense and unusually early,” said Mathieu Lefevre, the minister for ecological transition, urging a “great deal of caution”.

President Emmanuel Macron on X urged French people to “look out for others”, especially the elderly, children and isolated or vulnerable people.

Weather service Meteo-France warned that temperatures could reach as high as 41C in some places on Sunday as France finds itself at the epicentre of a heat anomaly also affecting southern Britain, Spain and Portugal.

Despite the worsening heatwave France hosted the annual Fete de la Musique, when musicians take over streets as revellers celebrate the start of summer late into the night.