Outdoor drinking and alcohol sales banned from Friday through the weekend

French police chief warns emergency medical system is 'saturated'

The Guardian questions effectiveness of the ban

Drownings, infant deaths in hot cars mount as Europeans seek relief from heat

A woman holds a drink with an ice pack on her head during a heat wave that struck Paris, France, on Thursday (local time). [Getty Images]
A woman holds a drink with an ice pack on her head during a heat wave that struck Paris, France, on Thursday (local time). [Getty Images]

As a heat wave batters Europe, <style ref="s0">French authorities have moved to ban public drinking and alcohol sales in Paris to prevent hospitals from running out of beds.</style>

French authorities announced a ban on drinking in public spaces across Paris from noon Friday (local time) through 7 a.m. Saturday. The measure will also apply from noon Saturday through 7 a.m. Sunday.

The sale of takeaway alcohol will likewise be prohibited from 6 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday, and again from 6 p.m. Saturday through 7 a.m. Sunday. Licensed bars and restaurants are exempt.

French National Police Agency chief Patrice Fort told BFM TV that "everyone knows <style ref="s1">drinking in the sun can have very serious consequences</style>" and warned that "<style ref="s2">the surge in severe heat-related cases is pushing the emergency medical system to the point of saturation.</style>"

The Guardian cast doubt on how effective the ban would prove, noting that public drinking had also been prohibited in Paris and several other cities the previous weekend during the Fête de la Musique music festival — yet streets were littered with beer cans and wine bottles once the festivities ended. <style ref="s3">"It remains to be seen how much impact the ban will have,"</style> the paper said.

A man cools off in the Warsaw Fountain at the Trocadéro gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on Wednesday. [Getty Images]
A man cools off in the Warsaw Fountain at the Trocadéro gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on Wednesday. [Getty Images]

Record heat has been causing casualties across France. Temperatures in some French cities have soared above 40 degrees Celsius, and Paris hospitals are struggling to cope with a surge in heat-related emergency patients, AFP reported.

The death toll continues to climb. Sports Minister Marina Ferrari told France Info that <style ref="s4">55 people had drowned</style> as of the previous evening. Most of them <style ref="s5">died after jumping into rivers or lakes to escape the heat.</style>

In Marseille, an 18-month-old infant left in a sweltering car suffered heatstroke and <style ref="s6">died after receiving hospital treatment</style> on June 23. Temperatures in Marseille had reached 33 degrees Celsius at the time. Earlier, two children aged 2 and 4 died in a vehicle in southern France on June 22, and a 3-year-old boy died in a car in Paris on June 24.

Residents cool off under a mist-spraying facility in Paris, France, on June 24 (local time). [Getty Images]
Residents cool off under a mist-spraying facility in Paris, France, on June 24 (local time). [Getty Images]

French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said Paris paramedics had <style ref="s7">responded to four times the usual number of cardiac arrest calls in the past 24 hours.</style>

She added that cardiac arrests were affecting not only the elderly but also younger people, warning that even cycling could be dangerous and that prolonged exposure to the heat could cause dizziness and falls serious enough to require hospitalization.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire noted that the mortality rate in the greater metropolitan area was rising, and directed a pointed message at younger residents. "I want to speak particularly to young people," he said. "Last night I saw about 100 people running in the streets — that was very irresponsible behavior."


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