Heatwave in France: Workers face stifling heat

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On a construction site in Lyon (Rhône), workers are desperately looking for a bit of coolness on Tuesday, August 12. From the morning, the heat quickly became stifling. " I'd say 35, 36 or so. It's better to be at the beach now, " said one worker. People are overheating, and with the prospect of a peak of 40 degrees in the afternoon, the Rhône prefecture has taken a radical decision: all outdoor construction sites are suspended in the city from noon to 10 p.m.

A relief for some. "It's like in winter, if it's minus 5, minus 8, we don't work. It's the same here, it's 40 degrees, we shouldn't be working," commented one worker. According to the prefecture, the order will last until the end of the red alert, with the risk of delays on construction sites.

In a metalwork and boilermaking workshop, movements must be precise, but here too, concentration and physical effort are difficult to maintain. " It's hot. In the morning, it's fine, but after the afternoon... Afterwards, eating starts to be difficult ," observes Xavier Rochet, metalworker and boilermaker. It gets up to 38 degrees in the workshop. Here, employees have been able to adapt their schedules with hiring from 6 a.m., and a lunch break reduced to 30 minutes. " That way, in the evening, instead of leaving at 5 p.m., we leave at 3:30 p.m. That already softens the blow a little," explains Nicolas Prost.

Fans have been installed to create air currents. For now, the repeated heatwaves have had little impact on the company's production, but Georges Eliot, the manager, says he is becoming increasingly vigilant. " We try to be very careful; the employees are the only assets we have," he assures.

In addition to an air-conditioned break room, employees have recently been provided with a so-called "heatwave" vest. Many companies have observed that it is easier to combat the cold than the heat.