France burns: 41 degrees, schools closed and the political battle for air conditioning

At least 783 schools have changed their class schedules. Many do not hesitate to close in the face of this overwhelming “dog days”, in a country that is not prepared for high temperatures in the summer.

The orange alert for a heat wave affects more than half of the French population this Friday and will remain in force on Saturday, with a high probability of being extended in the coming days, according to Météo-France. Particularly hot days are expected on Sunday and Monday.

It extends from the Ardennes to Haute Garonne, including Haute Savoie. This alert level will remain in force on Saturday, June 20 and, according to Météo-France, which forecasts high temperatures for next week, a widespread, prolonged and intense heat wave is expected.

For Friday afternoon, the forecast indicates 38 °C in Pithiviers and Loiret, 37 °C in Reims (where storms are also expected), Paris and Auxerre, 36 °C in Troyes and 35 °C in Mâcon and Chartres. Storms are also forecast in the north of the country.

The heat wave spread across France on Friday, with 53 departments on orange alert, from the southwest to the northeast. The situation led several municipalities to cancel the popular Music Festivalscheduled for Sunday. It is a traditional festival in the most important cities of France, where there is music and concerts on every corner, bar or square.

The heat wave is expected to be widespread, prolonged and intense, Météo-France warns. The peak of the heat wave is expected to occur between Sunday and Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 40°C, especially in the western and central regions, according to the agency.

On Thursday morning, a 30-year-old man died on an athletics track in Val-d’Oise after suffering cardiac arrest.

Emmanuel Macron called for extreme caution and care for the elderly and most vulnerable people, as these are difficult times. At the Poitiers academy, the baccalaureate oral exams, scheduled for the afternoon of Monday, June 22 and Tuesday, June 23, They have been postponed a week.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray, who will visit a school in Eure-et-Loir on Friday, is expected to report on the number of pupils affected by the postponement of oral exams and the possible suspension of classes.

The SNCF has canceled 71 Intercités trains scheduled between Thursday and Monday to “prevent possible air conditioning failures” on the Paris-Orleans-Limoges-Toulouse, Paris-Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux-Marseille lines.

Health Minister Stéphanie Rist sent a message of caution to young people, urging them to “be very careful with alcohol and physical activity.” During a heat wave, “even if you are young and healthy, if you exercise, you put your body at risk because your heart has a harder time releasing oxygen and, like a muscle, it gets too tired, so there is a risk,” he warned.

Given the proximity of the Music Festival, the minister also warned about the “very significant” risks associated with alcohol consumption during a heat wave: “Alcohol, combined with heat, has very serious consequences” for health. “We are two or three times more dehydrated,” often without even realizing it, and “as a result, we end up in the ER much faster,” he warned.

“Our individual behaviors must also adapt to climate change. And adapting means that, in these times, we should limit alcohol consumption“He insisted. He also reminded everyone that “100% of nursing homes have an air-conditioned room,” available to everyone. “If they don’t have a cool place, they can go to the nearest residence,” he said.

Marine Le Pen wants “a massive air conditioning plan” to “prevent people from dying of heat.” Currently, permission must be requested from the mayor’s office and the consortium of each building, which Mostly they reject it.to install an air conditioner in the house, in an apartment or even in a house in the country.

Within the framework of the VivaTech fair, Marine Le Pen advocated for “a massive air conditioning plan, starting with the spaces where the most vulnerable people are: hospitals, nursing homes and schools.”

“When I see a big hospital under construction, proudly announcing that it will not have air conditioning“It seems almost a crime to me,” the presidential candidate expressed indignantly. “We cannot condemn elderly people in nursing homes. We cannot condemn patients in hospitals to endure temperatures that directly affect their health,” said Marine Le Pen.

Due to climate change and culture, the French resist the use of air conditioning and most houses do not have refrigeration, especially in Paris and the north of the country.

Regarding carbon emissions caused by air conditioning, Marine Le Pen pointed the finger at the Greens: “As soon as the Greens oppose something, they twist studies and take fragments of sentences to convince you that it shouldn’t be done,” she replied. “The absurd thing is to let people die of heat,” he said.

Given the heat wave that is expected to reach its peak this weekend, several municipalities have announced the cancellation of Music Festival concerts. A mistake, according to her, because “the French remain responsible, as long as they are provided with the necessary information.” On the other hand, “we must reconsider sporting events.”

During a press conference from the Place Beauvau in Paris, the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, assured that “obviously, there will be no doubts about the festivities planned for the Music Festival” in France. “But we will ask the prefects to maintain very close contact with the organizers to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken so that these festivities take place in the best possible conditions,” said the Minister of the Interior.

The minister specified that all measures adopted will be evaluated “at the local level.”

Regarding outdoor sporting events, “it has been recommended, in consultation with the organizers, their cancellation when they are held outdoors,” the minister declared.

In Paris, The prefect of police asked eleven organizers to cancel their events. Ten of them agreed. The eleventh did not, prompting the prefect to issue a ban. Laurent Nuñez urged mayors and prefects to “not hesitate to adopt restrictive measures” if necessary.

“It is likely that, starting Sunday, several departments will be placed on red alert due to extreme heat,” warns Laurent Nuñez.

On Monday, temperatures could break records, with lows “often above 22°C from the southwest to the northeast” and highs between “37°C and 42°C.”

“Sunday and Monday could be between the hottest days ever recorded in France“, predicts Météo-France. The heat wave will continue next week.

Météo-France adds that the country has experienced 52 heat waves since 1947 (including this one) and that half of them have been produced since 2010. That is, there have been as many in the 60 years between 1947 and 2010 as in the 15 years from 2010 to the present.