EIFFEL TOWER CLOSED AS FRANCE HEATWAVE CUTS POWER TO 68,000

The Eiffel Tower closed during a record-breaking heatwave that swept across France, with a power outage affecting approximately 68,000 households in the western Brittany region on Wednesday. The national weather agency issued a red alert for extreme weather covering most of the country, including the northernmost region around Calais. Official figures indicate at least 40 people drowned in France as temperatures reached their highest level since records began.

The power outage occurred as the heatwave intensified across the nation. Brittany and surrounding areas experienced the most severe disruption to electricity supply. The red alert covered a significant portion of French territory, signalling the authorities' assessment of the danger posed by the extreme conditions.

The closures and outages reflected the scale of the meteorological event affecting France. The combination of record temperatures, power failures and drowning deaths indicated widespread impact across multiple regions and sectors of the country during the period of extreme heat.