Paris Bans Drinking Alcohol in Public as Heatwave Taxes Hospitals

The record-breaking heat is so bad at Paris that authorities are temporarily banning public alcohol consumption and banning evening alcohol sales.The Paris police chief, Patrice Faure, announced the restrictions due to a surge in heat-related hospitalizations. “We are reaching a saturation point in hospital facilities,” Mr. Faure told reporters. “As you know, drinking alcohol with the sun beating down can have a devastating effect.”The ban restricts drinking alcohol in public from noon on Friday until Saturday morning and resumes for the same hours Saturday into Sunday. Takeaway sales are also being suspended at 6 p.m. each day at Paris. Bars and restaurants are exempted from the temporary rules.The French interior ministry suggested other regions enact similar public alcohol restrictions.It was unclear how closely the rule would be enforced on Friday evening as France played Norway in the World Cup. Violators will not be arrested but face possible fines.A similar ban on public drinking during a festival last weekend at the city was not respected. The cleanup operation found piles of beer cans and wine bottles, the Guardian reported.A pride march planned for the weekend was postponed until September due to heat concerns.Emergency rooms across the country have reported a 400 percent increase in heat-related visits and cardiac arrests have risen sharply. The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, raised a health alert level to red, its highest level, to boost hospital staffing. The health ministry is providing emergency funds for hospitals to buy air conditioners.Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire of Paris told reporters that heatwaves must no longer be managed as crisis situations but as recurring phenomena. Earlier in the week he released emergency funds and vowed to buy at least one air conditioning unit for every school in the city.Temperatures at Paris hit a June record of 105 degrees on Wednesday and have remained elevated. More than 50 people have drowned since the start of the heatwave and several children have been found dead after being left in cars.Western and southern Europe has baked for days in the extreme heatwave. The heat is going to shift to the east over the weekend. The German government is warning the public to prepare for extreme conditions from the heat.

Paris Bans Drinking Alcohol in Public as Heatwave Taxes Hospitals

Paris Bans Drinking Alcohol in Public as Heatwave Taxes Hospitals

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