France is experiencing its third heatwave of the summer, with 78 departments on orange alert and temperatures reaching 36-39°C. The drought, worsening since May, has led to record soil dryness and critical low river levels, with water restrictions affecting 94% of the mainland population. The Ministry for Ecological Transition convened a hydrological monitoring committee to assess impacts on agriculture and biodiversity, while the prime minister tasked MPs and senators with proposing new measures against forest fires.

Background: Europe has been hit by record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires, with France and Spain experiencing their largest fires on record and the UK its driest July in nearly 200 years. Today, a third heat wave is sweeping across the continent, with temperatures exceeding 35°C in France, Italy, and Spain, affecting 92 million people, and over 300 million seeing temperatures above 30°C. Germany is forecast to reach 39°C by Friday, and the UK is bracing for its hottest-ever summer, with temperatures over 30°C. The prolonged heat has driven the Rhine to record lows, disrupting shipping, and the Danube to an all-time low, exposing WWII wrecks and affecting nuclear power plants. Spain is deploying 33,000 law enforcement personnel to manage crowds during a solar eclipse and prevent wildfires. Central and eastern Europe have set new national records, including 42.2°C in Slovakia and 41.8°C in Hungary. A Mediterranean buoy recorded a potential record sea-surface temperature of 33°C.

Background: Western Europe experienced its hottest June and July on record, with severe heatwaves, drought, wildfires, and low river levels causing economic damage and power plant shutdowns. New development: A Triodos Bank analysis estimates the extreme summer heat will cost the EU economy €180 billion, about 1% of GDP, wiping out the bloc's expected growth for 2026. Lost labor productivity alone could shave 0.6% off EU GDP, while agricultural output could fall 3-7%. France could lose 1.4 percentage points of growth, potentially pushing it into a 0.6% contraction, and the Netherlands could lose 0.8 points. The report warns extreme heat could become structural. Additional impacts include at least 14,000 excess deaths across six hard-hit countries, drought forcing cuts at Hungary's Paks nuclear plant and Romania diverting water for its last reactor, reduced shipping on the Rhine and Danube, and €1 billion in Austrian agricultural losses.

Background: Heatwaves and droughts across Europe have stressed energy infrastructure, including nuclear plants in France and Hungary reducing output due to low river water levels. Today: A new analysis reveals that record-low Danube levels left Hungary's Paks plant with only one of four units running, briefly risking complete shutdown, while French nuclear capacity was curtailed by up to 8-9 GW during late June and mid-July 2026 heatwaves, affecting electricity exports and prices. Although annual losses remain below 1% of production, the French audit office projects climate-related downtime could triple or quadruple by 2050, prompting France to plan four of six EPR2 reactors on the coast and add cooling towers, though cooling towers do not fully eliminate vulnerability, as seen at Golfech and Chooz. The curtailments are often environmental measures to protect river life, not safety shutdowns, and France may grant temporary exemptions, highlighting the growing vulnerability of Europe's nuclear fleet to climate change.

Former French Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed a broad primary among all parties that reject the 'extremes' to field a single candidate for the 2027 presidential election. He warns that the worst outcome would be a second-round runoff between far-right and far-left candidates, calling it a 'catastrophe' and urging democrats and reformists to unite behind one candidate capable of rallying all non-extreme voters. This proposal comes amid ongoing debates about coalition-building to counter the far-right in the upcoming election.

Background: The Rassemblement National (RN) had confirmed that Jordan Bardella would remain party president even if he runs in the 2027 French presidential election, with the official nomination to occur at the party congress in Orléans on October 24. Today: Bardella is assured of re-election as RN president at the congress on October 24-25, as he is the only candidate, having received 421 endorsements from party officials. The congress will also renew the party's National Council, with 307 men and 114 women running for 100 seats. Bardella will be an ex-officio member of the National Council and can co-opt 20 additional members, including Marine Le Pen, who is not running in this internal election.

In response to a mass migrant influx into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, French presidential candidate Edouard Philippe has proposed a series of measures to curb immigration in France and the EU. His proposals include a 'Schengen lock' requiring collective EU agreement for any mass regularization of undocumented migrants, suspension of asylum registrations in Mayotte and French Guiana, a European sanctions regime against migrant smuggling networks, and reiteration of his plan to end the 1968 agreement with Algeria. Philippe argues that Spain's regularization plan created a 'pull factor' for the continent, and his proposals aim to strengthen border controls and deter irregular migration.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a veteran of the May 1968 movement and former Green MEP, has endorsed Raphaël Glucksmann for the 2027 French presidential election, calling him the only candidate in the reformist left camp with a viable project for a social-ecological left. In an interview with Le Point, Cohn-Bendit criticized Jean-Luc Mélenchon for abandoning universalist values and adopting antisemitic positions, and predicted that Gabriel Attal would withdraw in favor of Édouard Philippe as the candidate of the reformist right. The endorsement adds momentum to Glucksmann's potential candidacy, which he is expected to confirm by the end of the summer.