Europe braces for heatwave

Paris: France and much of western Europe is expected to be hit by a massive heatwave beginning on Tuesday, weather service Meteo France announced late Friday.

"We are expecting temperatures between 35 C and 40 C over a large part of the country, with the exception of Brittany," the service's bulletin read.

The high temperatures are expected to rival and even surpass the heatwave of 2003, when around 15,000 people died from heat exhaustion due to a lack of air conditioning in retirement homes, apartments, and even hospitals.

Meteo France warned that temperatures would not ease at night.

They added that the wave would be "remarkably intense".

The heatwave is expected to last until the weekend.