Paris has banned alcohol at a major music festival as half of France remains under a red heat alert, exposing the deep inequalities in a nation where the wealthy retreat to air conditioning while the working class swelters. Temperatures are forecast to reach 40°C in parts of the country, with the capital cancelling drinks sales at the Fête de la Musique to prevent dehydration and hospital admissions. But for the millions in poorly insulated apartments and outdoor trades, the crisis is more than a summer inconvenience: it is a cost-of-living emergency.
Heatwaves hit the poor hardest. In the banlieues of Paris and the industrial towns of the north, households struggle to afford fans and may face higher electricity bills from cooling. The ban on alcohol is a sticking plaster on a gaping wound of social and regional inequality.
Unions representing construction workers and delivery drivers have demanded emergency measures including paid 'heat leave' and free water stations. Meanwhile, the government defends its alert system and criticises the festival's alcohol ban as a necessary precaution. Yet as the mercury rises, the question remains: who bears the true cost of a warming world?