A record heat wave gripping Paris has softened the city's asphalt to the point that high-heel stilettos sank into the road surface, drawing wide attention. As the unusual high temperatures persisted without cooling even at night, Paris authorities took the rare step of banning public drinking.
According to the BBC on Friday, French authorities said they would ban alcohol consumption in public spaces in Paris from noon that day until 7 a.m. the following day. The same measure applied through June 28 during the same hours.
Off-premise alcohol sales were also restricted from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. However, licensed bars and restaurants were exempt from the measure.
The Paris police chief told local media that "the measure was implemented because hospital facilities had reached their saturation point." French authorities raised the health alert to the highest level to increase hospital staff and strengthen protection for vulnerable groups.
France has recently experienced a record heat wave. According to the French weather agency, the national average low temperature reached 22 degrees Celsius on the night of June 25, and in Nantes in the northwest, the nighttime temperature did not fall below 27.2 degrees. With the heat continuing not only during the day but also at night, concerns over health damage are growing.
That day, a video was posted on X, formerly Twitter, with the message: "Live weather in Paris, France — so hot that high heels leave marks in the softened asphalt."
The video showed a woman walking on the asphalt in high heels. Her heels sank into the road surface, leaving marks like footprints, and the asphalt is presumed to have been weakened by the heat after consecutive days of the heat wave. The woman could not hide her astonishment, saying, "The asphalt has melted. Isn't this crazy? What is this?"
In addition, videos of citizens jumping into the Canal Saint-Martin and fountains to escape the heat have been shared one after another on local social media.
French Health Minister Stephanie Rist warned that "even young people are experiencing cardiac arrest," adding that "not only the elderly but also healthy young people cannot escape the effects of the heat wave." Paris emergency services reportedly received four times the usual number of cardiac arrest reports over a 24-hour period.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire pointed out, "You should not think of yourself as invincible," adding, "I saw about 100 people jogging on the streets around 7:30 p.m., which is honestly irresponsible behavior." He continued, "It's fine to rest from exercise for a few days."
The heat wave damage has also led to deaths. Near Paris, a three-year-old child was found dead in a car. Earlier, in Carpentras in the south, two children died inside a family vehicle. The head of an emergency room in Rennes in the northwest said that five to six deaths found in homes in the area appeared to be related to the heat wave.
After striking France, Spain and the United Kingdom, the heat wave is moving eastward to Germany and the Czech Republic. Germany received a forecast that temperatures in some areas could rise to 40 degrees Celsius on June 27, and an extreme high-temperature warning was also issued for most of the Czech Republic.
