{"id":511639,"date":"2026-06-21T21:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511639\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T21:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:22:12","slug":"france-restricts-alcohol-consumption-and-cancels-some-events-as-temperatures-pass-40-degrees-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511639\/","title":{"rendered":"France restricts alcohol consumption and cancels some events as temperatures pass 40 degrees \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities in France<\/a> have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert<\/a>, cancelled some outdoor sports events and restricted alcohol consumption at the nationwide F\u00eate de la Musique event amid a brutal heatwave forecast to push temperatures above 40 degrees.<\/p>\n

Level 1 or 2 heat alerts were issued on Sunday for about 53 million people, just over 75 per cent of the population. A record 35 of the country\u2019s 96 mainland departments were put on danger-to-life red alert, with another 45 under an orange warning.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s ecology minister, Mathieu Lef\u00e8vre, said on Sunday that 14 more departments would be on red alert on Monday. \u201cWe do not see temperatures falling before the end of the week,\u201d he said, demanding \u201cgreat prudence and a great many precautions\u201d. <\/p>\n

The national meteorological service M\u00e9t\u00e9o-France said: \u201cVery high temperatures are setting in for the long term,\u201d with a heatwave of \u201cexceptional severity and duration\u201d likely to break monthly and possibly all-time records.<\/p>\n

It warned that temperatures could exceed 40 degrees in many places on Sunday, with some areas facing rises to 42 degrees or beyond from Monday. The national heat index, an average of day- and night-time highs at 30 weather stations nationwide, is expected to hit its highest ever level, the forecasters added.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s F\u00eate de la Musique is a nationwide summer solstice celebration held every year in which musicians take over the streets with free performances and revellers party into the night. This year\u2019s festival is a particular source of heat-related health concerns, especially in Paris, Lyon and other major cities.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s culture minister, Catherine P\u00e9gard, urged \u201cextreme vigilance\u201d and said it should be up to local authorities to decide whether festivities should be cancelled or take place with suitable precautions. Most have opted for the latter.<\/p>\n

Several towns have cancelled pre-7pm performances or moved them indoors. Many have introduced alcohol restrictions, with drinking banned on the street and in public spaces in areas on red alert and no alcohol on sale at municipally organised events.<\/p>\n

\"AA sign bearing the inscription ‘Water Point’ in French at a public drinking water facility in the city centre during a heatwave in Pau on Sunday. Photograph: Quentin Top\/Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n

In Paris, which is under a red warning, stronger drinks including high-alcohol beers, fortified wines and spirits have been banned along the banks of the Seine and the Canal St Martin, to reduce the risk of people falling in. However, drinking at licensed bars and cafes and their terraces \u2013 where many gigs take place \u2013 is permitted.<\/p>\n

Nearly 5,000 police have been deployed across the capital for the day and evening, as well as 2,500 emergency and health service workers. Paris city hall has installed more than 1,300 free public water fountains, while more than 1,500 local shops have signed up for a scheme promising to fill personal water bottles without charge.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s prime minister, S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, convened a government heat crisis meeting on Saturday and planned another on Sunday, ordering ministers to urgently plan for better adapting France to further heatwaves in the future.<\/p>\n

Scientists have said that as Earth continues to warm, extreme heat events historically confined to high summer will become more frequent, more intense and last longer, as well as happening earlier and later in the year.<\/p>\n

The French education minister, \u00c9douard Geffray, said on Sunday that more than 800 schools across the country had already announced they would not open on Monday because of the extreme heat, while another 1,800 were rescheduling classes and end-of-year exams.<\/p>\n

Jean Castex, the head of the state rail service SNCF, advised \u201cmore vulnerable passengers\u201d to avoid taking the train and postpone journeys if possible, warning that air-conditioning systems and other rail infrastructure were being \u201cheavily tested\u201d by the conditions.<\/p>\n

Authorities reported on Sunday that four children aged between 11 and 17 had drowned in swimming accidents around the country on Saturday, including two in the Doubs river in the eastern town of Besan\u00e7on, where swimming has been banned. <\/p>\n

The heatwave is not confined to France. In Italy, authorities expanded heat warnings for Sunday from seven to eight cities in northern and central parts of the country, out of the 27 cities monitored nationally by the health ministry.<\/p>\n

In Spain<\/a>, the national weather agency, Aemet, has issued red warnings for northern regions. Temperatures of between 40 degrees and 42 degrees are forecast in the major river valleys and inland areas such as Andaluc\u00eda and Extremadura, rising to nearly 44 degrees by Tuesday.<\/p>\n

In the UK<\/a>, the Met Office said baking heat could last until at least Thursday, sparking health alerts and concerns for vulnerable people. <\/p>\n

Forecasters have said there is \u201cgrowing confidence\u201d this week could break the record for the hottest UK June temperature of 35.6 degrees, which was set in Southampton in 1976. \u2013 The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities in France have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert, cancelled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1814,42,43,2846,40,38,41,39,303,18335],"class_list":["post-511639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-france","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-spain","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-united-kingdom","tag-weather-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}