Welcome to another edition of the Pressbeat Podcast, also on mediumwaves 1575 kHz. From Paris I’m Ami Carter-Wilson.
France is burning and no relief is in sight.
The country has entered its sixth day of a brutal heatwave that has forced 49 départements — roughly a quarter of the nation — onto red alert, the highest level ever triggered under the system introduced in 2004. Temperatures are forecast to hit 40°C across much of France and reach 43°C in the southwest before the heatwave finally abates, which Météo-France says is not expected for another week.
The human toll is already clear. A 30-year-old man died Thursday on an athletics track in Ermont, a suburb north of Paris, found in cardiac arrest. Emergency call centres across France report a surge in heat-related incidents — emergency calls in Paris are up 60%, Rennes by 50%, Toulouse by 20%.
Schools have felt it first. Eight hundred and forty-five primary and secondary schools closed outright on June 21, with another 1,800 forced to alter their timetables. In Tours, Mayor Emmanuel Denis told AFP plainly: “At 40 degrees, I’ll close the schools.” A Bordeaux teacher summed up the absurdity — “Everyone thinks it’s normal, but one day we’re going to end up teaching in the aisles of the supermarket.” The Paris region threw €1 million at portable air conditioners. Meanwhile, the baccalauréat exams continue: 530,000 teenagers still expected to sit tests in overheated classrooms.
The rail network is buckling. SNCF has cancelled 71 long-distance trains between Thursday and Monday to prevent equipment failures caused by the heat. The Paris region — RER, Transilien — has warned of severe disruptions as rails expand beyond safe limits above 50°C. High-risk individuals have been advised to postpone travel entirely.
This is already France’s second heatwave of 2046. An unusually hot spell in May had already shattered records across half the country. Scientists at Météo-France describe the current event as “widespread, long-lasting and intense.” Local authorities now have expanded powers — cool rooms and drinking water stations for homeless populations must be organised, public events cancelled on health grounds, temporary bans on alcohol consumption in public spaces (with exceptions for bars and cafés) imposed.
Sunday marks the summer solstice — the longest day of the year. More sunshine means more heat. And with it, another question France will not stop asking but cannot answer: whether the country’s infrastructure can survive warming that simply was true a decade ago.
Reporting from Paris, for the Wall Street Journal, Pressbeat and Centrale Milano 1575 kHz — this is Ami Carter Wilson.