Temperatures continue to rise in France, with the Meteorological Agency issuing on Saturday the highest warning level for 35 departments starting on Sunday, coinciding with the celebration of the Music Festival across the country. The Meteorological Authority explained that the number of red warnings due to the heat wave is record. The previous record was 20 provinces on July 24 and 25, 2019. The institute confirmed in its bulletin issued at four in the afternoon (14:00 GMT) that “extremely high temperatures will continue for a long period across the country,” and it also placed 45 other provinces on orange alert. A red alert covers much of central and western France as of Sunday afternoon. In the region in question, extending from the capital, Paris, to the southwest, the Meteorological Authority expects “an exceptionally intense heat wave, similar to the heat waves in July 2019 and August 2003, but its duration is still uncertain.” The heatwave warning system was established in 2004, a year after the heatwave that struck France in 2003, causing the deaths of nearly 15,000 people. According to statistics by Agence France-Presse, based on population estimates in the provinces mentioned in the latest bulletin of the Meteorological Authority, this red alert will affect more than 26 million people. 53 million residents will be affected by the red and orange alerts. In addition to the heat wave, the authority explained that “during Saturday afternoon and until the evening, local violent storms will affect the east of the country and the Paris region.” She said, “The temperature (Sunday) will often reach between 39 and 40 degrees Celsius” in the southwest of the country, the Paris region, and Burgundy (east). The Meteorological Authority warned that “the temperature may reach 41 degrees in some areas.” Temperatures may rise further on Monday and “the average temperature across France (thermal index) will reach the level of the hottest day ever measured in France for all months,” according to the same source. Due to the high temperatures, the consumption of alcohol will be banned during the Music Festival on Sunday in provinces that will be placed under red alert, and “instructions” have been issued not to serve it at state-organized events, according to the government, which activated an inter-ministerial crisis cell. Heat waves caused the death of about 5,700 people in France in 2025, compared to 3,700 the previous year, according to estimates by the French Public Health Agency. Three-quarters of deaths were recorded among those over the age