France restricts public alcohol consumption, outdoor sports

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.