Almost half of France was on heatwave high alert on Saturday, as 470 kilometres of traffic jams clogged the country's motorways and Paris took emergency measures to fight soaring pollution, reports Radio France Internationale.
With temperatures expected to reach 32-38°C for the fifth day running Saturday, 43 of mainland France's 95 départements were on orange heatwave alert, the second highest level, and most of the rest of the country was on the next level.
But official weather-watcher Méteo France forecast storms north of Paris and some clouds on the Mediterranean coast, where for once temperatures are lower than Paris, Burgundy, Champagne and the centre, and in the Jura and Alps mountains.
Temperatures were expected to be relatively low, around 22-24°C at their highest, on the Channel coast.
The heatwave, set to continue on Sunday and on Monday in some areas, has been caused by a high-altitude anticyclone, which is preventing fresh air coming from the Atlantic Ocean and spreads from Morocco to Germany.
Paris's city council on Friday asked officials to limit heavy goods vehicles travelling through the Greater Paris Region (Île de France) and lower speed limits in an attempt to reduce pollution, which has soared over the last four days.