Europeans are currently battling a persistent heatwave, with France, Spain and Italy being hit the hardest so far.
France saw its hottest June day on record on Tuesday, and French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that forty people have drowned in heatwave-related deaths since last Thursday.
Warnings have been issued, schools closed, events cancelled, and passengers warned against non-essential travel.
In order to combat the days’ highest temperature peaks, one cultural initiative in Paris has everyone asking: “Why isn’t this nation-wide?”
Several independent cinemas in the 10th arrondissement - 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.
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.
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.
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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”.
Here’s hoping more cinemas outside the French capital and in other European countries get inspired...
Elsewhere in France, the Semaine du Cinéma (Cinema Week) takes place this year – rather handily, considering the heat - between Sunday 28 June and Wednesday 1 July, with tickets only costing €5. An extra incentive to get thee into a cool theatre.
