France was sweltering under another day of extreme heat on Wednesday after recording its hottest day on record – with millions under red alerts, schools closed, power cuts affecting tens of thousands of homes and ministers warning that another spell of exceptional temperatures could last until 14 July.
The national weather service Météo-France placed 58 departments on red alert and another 31 on orange alert. Four northern departments – Aisne, Somme, Nord and Pas-de-Calais – were added to the highest warning level on Wednesday.
