French authorities have announced temporary restrictions on public alcohol consumption and takeaway alcohol sales in Paris, as the city faces mounting pressure on hospitals during a severe heatwave.
Public drinking will be banned in the capital from noon on Friday until 07:00 on Saturday, with the same measure repeated from Saturday into Sunday. Takeaway alcohol sales will also be restricted from 18:00 until 07:00 on both nights. Licensed bars and restaurants are exempt.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure said the measures were aimed at reducing the burden on emergency services, warning that hospital facilities were approaching saturation.
The restrictions come as France raises its health alert level to the highest stage, allowing authorities to reinforce hospital staffing and increase protection for vulnerable people. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the Orsan health emergency plan was being moved to level three so the health system could withstand the strain over time.
French officials have urged residents and visitors to change their behaviour during the heatwave, with Health Minister Stéphanie Rist warning that the risks are not limited to the elderly or those with existing health problems. She said the Paris ambulance service had recorded four times more cardiac arrests than normal over a 24-hour period, while stressing that confirmed figures for heat-related deaths were not yet available.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire also warned against unnecessary physical activity, saying people should not assume they are “invulnerable” in extreme heat. He criticised those continuing to exercise outdoors in the evening, saying it was safer to pause sport for a few days while the red alert remained in place.
France has recorded consecutive days of extreme temperatures, with Météo-France reporting that average overnight minimum temperatures reached 22C on Wednesday night. In Nantes, the temperature did not fall below 27.2C.
The heatwave has also disrupted public life elsewhere in France, with teachers’ unions warning of unsafe conditions in schools, several nuclear plants going offline because of the heat, and storms expected in parts of the west after days of record-breaking temperatures.
Authorities have warned that extreme heat can quickly affect even healthy people, especially when high temperatures continue for several days and offer little relief overnight.
With information from BBC
