While France is going through a new episode of heatwave, some town halls have decided to cancel the festivities of June 21 on the occasion of the Music Festival.
Will the heatwave get the better of the summer solstice festivities? As a new episode of high heat spreads across France from this Thursday, June 18 with peaks expected at over 40 degrees, certain French municipalities have taken the lead and announced, in their municipalities, the cancellation of the Music Festival.
This is particularly the case in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Corrèze, where the town hall announces in a press release posted on Facebook the cancellation of “all the activities it is organizing as part of the Music Festival scheduled for this Sunday June 21, 2026”, “due to the episode of extreme heat announced on the department (…) and in order to guarantee the safety of the public, artists, municipal agents and volunteers.”
Same decision in smaller municipalities across the four corners of France, such as Saint-Savinien, in Charente-Maritine, Le Teich in Gironde, Claye-Souilly in Seine-et-Marne, Écommoy, in Sarthe or Bougueil, in Indre-et-Loire.
In certain municipalities, organizers are choosing to cancel certain particular events, such as in Alfortville, in Val-de-Marne, where concerts organized by the public establishment Grand Paris Sud Est Avenir will not take place, just like a concert at the Square de la Résistance, in Nevers, in Nièvre.
“No trees or shadows”
In Angers, Mayor Christophe Béchu decided to cancel the events planned “on very mineral squares where there are no trees or shade”, according to the Minister of Health Stéphanie Rist on RTL on Wednesday June 17. “The decisions are local because the temperatures and situations are different from one municipality to another,” she added.
The heatwave is setting in over a large part of France and is expected to last at least until next week, with a peak on Sunday or Monday. Twenty-six departments are placed on heatwave orange vigilance from midday, from the Paris Basin to Haute-Savoie, including Loiret, Cher, and Rhône.
