Paris: Forty-nine French departments will be placed under red alert for extreme heat on Monday, the highest level of alert, M©t©o-France announced on Sunday.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, this level corresponds to an episode of extreme heat, exceptional in its duration, intensity, and geographical extent, likely to have a significant health impact on the entire population.

Another forty departments will be placed under orange alert on Monday, a level that corresponds to a "period of intense heat for at least three consecutive days and nights, likely to constitute a health risk for the entire exposed population." Thirty-five departments were already under red alert on Sunday.

A "widespread, prolonged, and intense" heatwave is currently affecting mainland France. Temperatures are expected to frequently reach 38 to 41°C, locally even higher, throughout next week, according to M©t©o-France. The average temperature across France (thermal indicator) could reach the level of the hottest day ever recorded in the country, for any month.

Faced with this heatwave, President Emmanuel Macron called on the French people to be vigilant and show solidarity. "Let us all be attentive to our elders, our children, and those who are isolated or vulnerable," he declared on his social media account.

In Paris, parks and public gardens will remain open 24 hours a day. The city has temporarily lifted the ban on swimming in sections of the Saint-Martin Canal to provide more cooling spaces for residents. Swimming, however, remains prohibited in the Seine.

The Paris Prefecture has encouraged residents living in uncool homes to seek relief from the heat in air-conditioned or cooled locations, such as libraries, shopping centers, or designated cooling areas.

Since the weekend, authorities have recommended that organizers postpone or cancel outdoor sporting events. "Faced with the refusal of one of them, and in order to prevent any risk, he proceeded to prohibit it," a statement published Thursday by the police prefecture said.