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 and temperatures are high nationwide, expected to reach 40 C on Sunday in some areas, in a country where air-conditioning isn’t widespread. The forecast for Monday 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.