Paris bans drinking alcohol in public as hospitals hit heatwave breaking point

Temperatures in Paris on Wednesday hit a June record of 40.9C, a day after France recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago. Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

Drinking takeaway alcohol in the street has been banned in Paris this weekend and the city’s pride march has been cancelled to spare overwhelmed ambulance services and overcrowded hospitals in the deadly heatwave.

“As you know, drinking alcohol with the sun beating down can have a devastating effect,” the ⁠Paris police chief, Patrice Faure, ​told ​BFM TV.