People living in attic apartments under zinc roofs of Paris suffer in the heat

(23 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Paris - 23 June 2026 1. SOUNDBITE (English) John Leicester, The Associated Press: "So behind me is the iconic skyline of Paris with these grey roofs that just stretch as far as the eye can see. Maybe it conjures up images for you of Emily in Paris or perhaps Remy, the cartoon rat, running across the rooftops as he chases his dream of being a Parisian chef. But what maybe looks like a dream is a real nightmare when it comes to a heat wave because the attic apartments, they are roasting hot, the sun baking down on them all day." 2. Various of Paris skyline, people taking photos, roofs of residential builings 3. SOUNDBITE (English) John Leicester, The Associated Press: "So, Emily and Francesca have kindly invited us into their little apartment. It's 14 square metres and it's just underneath the roofs of Paris and suffice to say they've been telling us that in an interview we're all now desperate to go and have a swim or a cold shower , about how difficult it's been during this heat wave to live underneath these iconic roofs of Paris. There's 130,000 roofs in Paris, and nearly three quarters of them are covered with zinc. It's a metal that's very resistant - it can be recycled, but it also traps and it transfers the heat to little apartments like this, the attic apartments of Paris." 4. Various of Paris residents Emily and Francesca in their apartment 5. Various of zinc-covered roofs of buildings 6. SOUNDBITE (English) John Leicester, The Associated Press: "Now out here in the sun, the thermometer is giving me a reading of 34 degrees. That's approaching about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But let's see what happens when we put it on some zinc and see whether that reading changes. Wow look at that 43, 44, 45 now I've left this up here for a couple of minutes and we're up to 48 degrees Celsius, let's see what that is in Fahrenheit 118 nearly 119 degrees Fahrenheit and it's not even the hottest part of the day. I think that gives you an idea of what it's like to both work on and live under the zinc rooftops of Paris." 7. Various of tourists around the Sacré-Cœur 8. Close of electronic board showing temperature outside pharmacy, showing 41 C (105,8 F) STORYLINE: Millions of people across Europe were exposed to extreme and exceptional high temperatures on Tuesday, with 40 fatalities from drowning recorded in France in the past week as residents seek relief from the searing heat. Temperatures will remain high around the clock in France, the European nation the most affected so far by the early summer heat wave. The national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments, about half the country, under a red heat wave alert. Italy, Spain, and Britain were also hit. Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that the 40 people who died by drowning since last Thursday were mainly young people. In a country without widespread air conditioning, schools, public transportation and sporting events have been impacted. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower adjusted its operations to the scorching weather, closing in the afternoon instead of late at night as it usually does. The Louvre museum said it would close two hours earlier than normal from Wednesday through Saturday. Extreme conditions are expected to last at least until the end of the week, with daytime highs above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many towns. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...