France restricts public drinking as Europe swelters under a ‘heat-dome driven furnace’ for the second time in two months

France has taken the extraordinary step of banning public drinking in major cities as a second devastating heat wave in eight weeks pushes Europe toward a climate crisis inflection point, raising urgent questions about whether traditional summer restrictions on alcohol are becoming a permanent fixture of continental life. The move reflects a darker reality beneath the headlines: authorities are no longer merely responding to record temperatures but actively reshaping daily behavior in anticipation of a scorching new normal. With back-to-back heat domes striking with little reprieve, the question is no longer whether Europe can adapt to extreme heat, but whether societies can function under the constraints required to survive it.

CNN·4h ago