In Paris independent cinemas offers free afternoon screenings in air-conditioned theatres
Priority is given to those most vulnerable to high temperatures: people under the age of 25, over-65s, pregnant women, and people with reduced mobility.
In the 10th arrondissement several independent cinemas - L’Archipel, Le Brady and Le Louxor - have initiated the “Ciné-clim” scheme, which offers free afternoon screenings in air-conditioned theatres between 1pm and 4pm.
To get tickets for a chance to cool off during a free screening, cinemagoers simply need to go to the relevant cinemas and show their ID.
The city council stated in a press release that this initiative “forms part of a wider range of measures implemented in the borough to tackle the heatwave: cooling stations, a cooled room at the town hall, supervised swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin, and the Villemin – Mahsa Jîna Amini garden remaining open until midnight”.
Temperatures are set to peak across the France on Wednesday during a record-breaking heatwave.
About 68,000 homes in Brittany have been affected, with electricity unlikely to be fully restored until Wednesday night at the earliest, authorities said.
More than half of the country remains under a red heat alert, with a high of 43C (109.4F) possible later in the day in the southwest, according to forecaster Météo France.
Pissos, in the south-western Landes region, saw a scorching temperature of 44.3C on Tuesday, Météo France said.
The heatwave spread to other parts of western Europe on Wednesday. Orange alert for dangerous weather in place for parts of the Netherlands.
In some parts of the UK temperatures could hit 38C on Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to peak in the Netherlands and Belgium on Friday, in Germany is expected to rise to 40C over the weekend.
The heatwave will also extend to eastern Europe over the next few days - temperatures could hit in Poland, Croatia and Hungary for later in the week.