France is in the middle of its hottest May on record. Over 400 towns broke their highest ever May temperatures on Tuesday, and Météo-France is forecasting up to 37°C in the southwest on Wednesday. Paris will reach 34°C, Bordeaux 37°C, Lyon and Montélimar 35°C, Rennes 36°C. Even Brittany, normally one of the cooler corners of the country, clocked almost 32°C in Saint-Brieuc.
Thirteen départements are on orange canicule alert, the warning level just below red. The list covers Gironde, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Loire-Atlantique, Vendée and the entire Brittany peninsula. Another 26 départements sit at yellow. Paris is also dealing with an air pollution spike, which has triggered reduced speed limits across the region.
What it means for you
Most French apartments do not have air conditioning, and older buildings heat fast and cool slowly. Those are the kind most students and new arrivals end up renting. If your studio sits under the roof (often called a chambre de bonne) or on the top floor of an older building without a lift, expect indoor temperatures well above 30°C by late afternoon, even with the windows wide open. Workplaces are legally required to act when heat becomes a health risk, but the threshold is loose. Your employer is supposed to provide water, shift hours where possible, and avoid heavy outdoor tasks during the peak.
What to do
- Close shutters and curtains during the day. Open windows only at night and early morning. This single move helps more than anything else in a French apartment.
- Carry water everywhere. Public fountains in Paris, Lyon and most major cities are drinkable and free. The Paris city app maps them.
- If your apartment becomes unbearable, head to a salle rafraîchie (cooled room). Mairies in every major city open these during canicule. Check your mairie d'arrondissement website, or call 3975 in Paris.
- Check on elderly neighbours. France's 2003 heatwave killed 15,000 people, mostly elderly and isolated. The Plan Canicule relies on people noticing.
- If your job involves working outdoors (construction, delivery, terrace service), know that you can refuse unsafe conditions under the droit de retrait.
For live alerts, the Météo-France app and vigilance.meteofrance.fr show the current colour code for your département.
Source: The Local France