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🇸🇪 Sweden /Disasters & Emergencies

French postal workers help elderly during heatwave

From Svenska Dagbladet · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • French postal workers are assisting the elderly and vulnerable during extreme heatwaves by checking on their well-being.
  • This initiative, ordered by the Prime Minister, involves tens of thousands of postal workers checking on at-risk individuals.
  • While some elderly recipients appreciate the extra attention, others express skepticism about the postal workers' availability and suggest alternative government initiatives.

In response to recurring extreme heatwaves, France has mobilized approximately 60,000 postal workers to provide crucial support to the elderly and vulnerable. Beyond delivering mail, these workers now incorporate brief check-ins to ensure at-risk individuals are coping with the high temperatures.

It enriches the job. The difficult part is that we would like to give time to more people, but it doesn't always work during the workday.

— Virginie DessalleA French postal worker describes the new duties of checking on the elderly during heatwaves.

Virginie Dessalle, a postal worker in Bourgoin-Jallieu near Lyon, described how her duties now include moments of conversation with isolated elderly individuals. She checks if they are managing the heat, noting that while this enriches her job, the challenge lies in the limited time available during the workday to assist more people.

It's a presence, and they can keep an eye on people who aren't feeling well.

— Ann-MarieAn 80-year-old recipient expresses her positive view of postal workers checking on the elderly during heatwaves.

The initiative was officially ordered by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu in late June. While some recipients, like an 80-year-old woman named Ann-Marie from Valbonne, welcome the presence and the added layer of care, others are more reserved. One anonymous woman expressed concern that postal workers might have other pressing tasks and suggested that the government should organize such initiatives through different channels.

The postmen might have other things to do and not much time. The best would be if the government organized such initiatives in other ways.

— Anonymous womanA skeptical recipient voices concerns about the practicality and effectiveness of postal workers assisting the elderly during heatwaves.

France is currently experiencing another heatwave, with most departments under orange heat warnings, the second-highest level. The high temperatures, coupled with a lack of rain, are severely impacting agriculture. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard described the situation as an "unprecedented event with very heavy consequences" and indicated that the government anticipates needing several hundred million euros in state emergency aid for farmers. The country has already seen over 93,000 hectares of forest burn this year, significantly more than in the previous year, and the risk of wildfires remains high along the Mediterranean coast and in northwestern France.

What they are experiencing is not just another drought, but an event without precedent with very heavy consequences.

— Annie GenevardFrance's Agriculture Minister describes the severe impact of the drought and heat on the country's farmers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Svenska Dagbladet in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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