As a severe heat wave bakes France, threatening to match historic highs, the state has prioritized the protection of its nuclear energy infrastructure while the most vulnerable populations face deadly conditions. Authorities have tightened surveillance of water supplies to France’s many nuclear reactors, even as they express worry for people living in the baking streets and the elderly isolated in their homes, recalling the 15,000 older people who died in a similar heat wave 23 years ago.
About a third of France is currently under the national weather service’s heat red alert. Temperatures are expected to reach 40 C (104 F) in some areas on Sunday, with forecasts indicating even hotter conditions for Monday.
The heatwave has been ongoing for days, disrupting daily life across the country. This disruption has led to the cancellation of dozens of trains and the suspension of classes, impacting workers' commutes and students' education.
France’s weather service Météo-Franc has stated uncertainty regarding the duration of the heatwave, which is estimated to affect about three quarters of the population.
The State's Priorities
In response to the crisis, the government has announced reinforced wildfire readiness, deploying emergency services and military forces on wildfire alert. Public alcohol consumption has been restricted, and some outdoor sports events have been canceled.
For France’s annual Music Day on Sunday, a particular concern for authorities, organizers were ordered to limit alcohol use. This measure was explicitly framed as necessary to preserve emergency services and allow medics to concentrate on caring for the most vulnerable, rather than addressing the structural conditions that create such vulnerability.
In a separate move, the government banned alcohol at some events during a massive national music festival. The office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that for all events organized by the state and its agencies, instructions have been given not to offer alcohol in public places under the red alerts.
The Human Cost of Neglect
While the state focuses on managing public order and protecting key infrastructure, the human cost of the heatwave falls disproportionately on the dispossessed. Authorities have expressed particular concern for people living in the baking streets and elderly individuals in nursing homes or isolated in their homes, groups historically most vulnerable to extreme weather events.
This concern echoes the tragic events of a 2003 heat wave, which became a reckoning for France after approximately 15,000 older people died. Despite this 23rd anniversary of a preventable disaster, systemic solutions remain unaddressed.
Managing Crisis, Not Solving It
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened a government heat crisis meeting on Saturday and planned another for Sunday, in the face of what the national weather service called a widespread, long-lasting, and intense hot spell. However, the proposed solutions remain within the existing framework of managing symptoms rather than addressing root causes.
Lecornu ordered government ministers to plan for better adapting France to heat waves in the future, including via air conditioning, if necessary. This approach suggests a reliance on market-based solutions and individual consumption, further entrenching the system that generates such crises, rather than challenging the fundamental drivers of climate change or the structural inequalities that render populations vulnerable.