France bakes under historic heat as Europe wrestles with scorching heat wave

France recorded its hottest day on record as a sweeping European heat wave drove temperatures to as high as 44.3 C in Landes and a 29.8 C national average, sparking power outages, closures of the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, and travel disruptions across several countries; dozens of deaths in France from heat-related causes were reported, and red heat alerts pressed authorities in the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to warn of ongoing extreme heat driven by climate change.