Outdoor events continued in other areas of France - this man cooled down at a music festival in Clisson
Concerts and large public gatherings have been called off in the Gironde department around Bordeaux.
On Thursday, parts of France hit 40C earlier in the year than ever before, with temperatures expected to peak on Saturday.
Scientists say periods of intense heat are becoming more frequent and longer lasting as a result of global warming.
Comment: Extreme weather events of all kinds are occurring with an increasing frequency, including record breaking low temperature events, and it has nothing to do with 'global warming': Texas cold snap linked to 40 years of increasing snowfall in Arctic & disruptions in stratospheric polar vortex - increase in extreme cold events likely - study
Spain, Italy and the UK are also experiencing high temperatures.
© GettyTemperatures have reached 44C in Montpellier in France
Private celebrations, such as weddings, will still be allowed.
Comment: That's kind of our dear leaders.
"Everyone now faces a health risk", local official Fabienne Buccio told France Bleu radio.
Comment: Except that's not true.
The French interior ministry warned people to be extremely careful and not expose themselves to the weather.
State forecaster Meteo France said it was the earliest hot spell ever to hit the country, which has been caused by a mass of hot air moving from north Africa.
Comment: The heatwave may be unprecedented because of how early in the year it is, but France has seen heatwaves of a similar strength in a number of previous years, some recent, some decades ago, but suddenly the authorities are imposing bans?
Temperatures could hit 39C in Paris and droughts have also raised the risk of wildfires, the forecaster said.
"I'm 86 years old, I was born here, but I think this is the worst heatwave I've ever seen," Jacqueline Bonnaud told the AFP news agency in the southern city of Toulouse.
The increased use of air-conditioners and fans was forcing France to import electricity from neighbouring countries, grid operator RTE said.
Comment: Nothing to do with Europe's sanctions on Russian energy?
© GettyThere have been forest fires in Catalonia
There have been forest fires in Catalonia, including one which could grow to 20,000 hectares before it's contained, the regional government said.
Water is so low in large stretches of Italy's largest river, the Po, that locals can walk through the middle of the expanse of sand and wartime shipwrecks are resurfacing.
In the UK, temperatures are expected to reach 33C in southern England, while a level three heat-health alert has been issued for London.
Comment: The rather reasonable sounding 'health alert', that one could understand to be an advisory notice to anyone who wasn't aware of how hot it was expected to get, is, as noted in the video below, actually intended to help 'protect the NHS'; the very same mantra that was rolled out during the contrived coronavirus crises; which was also when people were conditioned into accepting lockdowns.
The river bed of the Po in Italy has dried up
On Wednesday a third of the entire population of the United States were advised to stay indoors due to record temperatures. In India, Delhi has recorded a maximum temperature of at least 42C on 25 days this summer, the India Meteorological Department reported.
Reader Comments
will they invent another flag ffs, give it a week, there all shedding there skin.. hehe
Prior to the mosque shootings our kids here in Christchurch had regular "Lockdown drills" which were used for real during the terror event. Shortly afterwards we heard the term "lockdown" used on a much larger scale (Covid). Its being drummed into us as a normal way of life. Totalitarianism by stealth.