Paris Touches 'New Form of Crisis' as Heatwave Grips City

Paris felt the grip of extreme heat this week, pushing residents to adopt drastic measures and highlighting a "new form of crisis." The sweltering temperatures made homes, workplaces, and public transport unbearable for many.

One resident, Lucie, 45, found her apartment stifling and had to move her children to her parents' home in the suburbs, commuting daily to bring them to school. Marie, 58, had to leave her top-floor apartment for a friend's ground-floor residence. Some families spent entire days in their building's hallways to escape the heat.

Businesses also adapted, with company restaurants feeding children of employees unable to attend school. Google France's Paris offices opened their air-conditioned spaces to students from two nearby schools whose classrooms had become too hot. The widespread accounts illustrate how the extreme weather imposed unprecedented adaptations on daily life in the city.