France braces for record heat as 845 schools close and temperatures head for 42 °C
A severe heatwave with red alerts in 35 départements will close 845 schools and disrupt rail services on Monday, with temperatures forecast to reach 42 °C in Bordeaux and potentially break national records.
Heatwave peaks on Monday
France is entering what forecasters warn could be its hottest day on record. Météo-France has placed 35 départements under red vigilance and 45 under orange, affecting about 26 million people. The national thermal indicator may match the previous all-time high, with minimum temperatures staying above 22 °C along a southwest-to-northeast axis and locally exceeding 25 °C overnight in areas such as the Gironde.
- 35 départements under red vigilance, 45 under orange
- Peak heat expected; 42 °C forecast in Bordeaux, 845 schools closed
- Heat continues, shifting westward; 40 °C in Bordeaux, Nantes, Tours
Schools and transport disrupted
Education minister Edouard Geffray announced that 845 primary and middle schools would remain shut on Monday, while 1,800 others would release pupils in the early afternoon. The rail network is also described as "heavily affected" by the extreme conditions, though no specific service cancellations were detailed.
845 écoles et collèges seront fermés lundi en raison de la canicule tandis que 1.800 autres établissements vont aménager leurs horaires.
City-by-city forecast
Monday afternoon will bring 38 to 40 °C to the Île-de-France, western Brittany and the Rhône valley, and 40 to 42 °C from northern Aquitaine to Touraine and Anjou. Bordeaux is expected to hit 42 °C, Limoges 40 °C, and Tours, Auxerre and Bourges 39 °C. Coastal areas will be cooler: 32 °C in Brest, 30 °C in Biarritz, Nice and Marseille, and 28°C in Cherbourg. Tuesday shifts the highest readings westward, with 40 °C again in Bordeaux, Nantes and Tours, and 38 °C in Lyon, Vichy and Limoges. Isolated thunderstorms are possible in parts of the south and centre.
- Bordeaux
- 42 °C
- Limoges
- 40 °C
- Tours
- 39 °C
- Auxerre
- 39 °C
- Bourges
- 39 °C
- Lyon
- 38 °C
- Brest
- 32 °C
- Marseille
- 30 °C
What forecasters are saying
Meteorologist Guillaume Séchet noted on social media that France will be the European country most affected by the heat in the coming days, with the west suffering the highest temperatures on Tuesday afternoon. Laurent Li, a CNRS researcher at the dynamic meteorology laboratory, attributed the episode to a powerful, near-stationary anticyclone over western Europe, warning that the heatwave could last into the following week.
Dans les prochains jours, la France s'imposera comme le pays européen le plus touché par les fortes chaleurs. Mardi après-midi, c'est surtout l'Ouest qui subira les températures les plus élevées.
L'anticyclone est assez stationnaire et peu évolutif, ce qui laisse craindre que la canicule actuelle risque de durer la semaine prochaine.
The summer heat comes with seasonal anomalies of up to 19 °C above normal in places, according to Le Figaro. Forecasters expect the hot spell to persist through at least the end of the week, with overnight lows offering little relief, especially in the west.
