Paris police said they had asked organizers of tomorrow's planned pride march to cancel it due to an extraordinary heatwave that is straining emergency services and hospitals in the French capital, Reuters reported. Otherwise, the police warned that they would ban it, the agency added, BTA reported.
Usually, tens of thousands of people take part in the parade, filling the city's streets.
The police made the same request to the organizers of the "Solid Days" music festival and the athletics tournament at the "Charlet" stadium, which are also expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors.
The organizers agreed to the police request and postponed the parade until September, Reuters notes.
The heat wave is spreading increasingly in Europe, where 101 million people, including 50 million in France and 18 million in Germany alone, endure temperatures exceeding 35 degrees at some times of the day, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
More than 380 million people in Europe, or nearly two-thirds of the continent's population, is now living in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, according to an AFP analysis based on forecasts from the German weather service and population projections from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said yesterday that the number of deaths was rising in the French capital, where temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for the fourth time in 150 years. According to the French health ministry, 25 heart attacks were diagnosed in the past 24 hours, compared to the usual 10.