Paris Restricts Alcohol Sales as Heat Wave Strains Hospitals Across Europe
Paris authorities have banned buying alcohol to take away from bars and restaurants, and drinking it in public spaces such as squares and along the Seine, in an effort to ease pressure on city hospitals during the ongoing heat wave. According to the BBC, public drinking is banned from noon today until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, and again during those same hours on Sunday. The takeaway alcohol ban takes effect today at 6:00 p.m. and also runs until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. The restrictions do not apply inside bars and restaurants.
France and several other European countries, including Britain, Spain and Italy, have been hit this week by record-breaking temperatures. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the health system’s alert level had been raised to its highest setting, meaning hospitals are operating at full staffing. Paris police chief Patrice Faure warned, “We are close to saturation in terms of hospitals.” Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said the extreme heat is dangerous not only for older people and those with weak immune systems, but also for younger, healthy people, adding, “Even if you are young and in good health with no medical issues, this heat will affect you.”
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said deaths are rising and urged residents, especially young people, to stop intense exercise during the heat. “We must not believe we are invincible,” he said. “I am thinking especially of young people... It is time to take a break from training for a few days.”
The crisis is affecting other cities too. In Rennes, in northwestern France, five people died as temperatures reached 41 degrees Celsius this week, and officials said emergency rooms were full. France’s teachers’ federation is threatening a strike over “unacceptable working conditions” in the heat, saying repeated warnings have brought no action and that staff and students are at risk. Three nuclear reactors in the country have also been shut down because of the extreme temperatures.
The Guardian reported that about half of Europe’s 850 largest cities are experiencing their worst heat stress on record, a combination of high temperatures and humidity. Meteorologist Dr. Theodore Kipping of Imperial College London said this is “the most severe and widespread heat wave ever to affect such a large area of Europe,” adding, “This event would not have happened without climate change.” European weather agencies expect temperatures to ease in some countries in the coming days, but to rise further in others, including Germany and the Czech Republic. In Germany, the DWD said large areas are under “heat stress” and temperatures are likely to break records. Hamburg has canceled a half marathon, Germany’s national rail company is offering full refunds to passengers who do not want to travel in the heat, and Czech rail officials are advising against nonessential trips.
