Paris is sweltering under a heatwave that shows no sign of abating, with the mercury set to smash records across Western Europe. For the city's working class, the burning question is not just about comfort but survival. In the cramped apartments of the banlieues, where air conditioning is a rarity, families are struggling to sleep.
On the construction sites and in the sweltering kitchens of the city's restaurants, workers are pushing through the haze to earn a living wage. The unions are calling for emergency measures: more water breaks, earlier shift ends, and compensation for those who fall ill. But the bosses are dragging their feet.
Meanwhile, the cost of ice and cold drinks is skyrocketing, hitting the poorest hardest. As the heatwave tightens its grip, the real economy of Paris is fracturing along familiar lines: those who can flee to the coast, and those who must stay and sweat.
