2023 heat wave plan: the government’s “15 key actions” for this summer

HEAT MAP. To cope with high temperatures and potential heat waves, the government has just announced the 15 measures of its action plan to avoid disaster this summer.

This Thursday, June 8 on Franceinfo, the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu announced the government’s heat wave plan for this summer by presenting the “15 key actions to deal with heat waves” and periods of heat wave in France throughout the summer. The purpose of these measures is to “accompany all French people, in particular the most vulnerable” to face periods of high heat by giving them advice and the actions to adopt to avoid dehydration, take care of the most vulnerable, but also to lower the temperature by a few degrees in homes, classrooms and even businesses. What measures has the government put in place as part of the heat wave plan? We tell you everything.

What are the actions implemented in the 2023 heat wave plan?

For the general public

• Dissemination of information and messages on the “work that can be done and the behavior to adopt in your home” in the event of a “heat wave”.
• Dissemination of information on “good gestures to adopt for animal owners”.
• “Prevention of the risk of drowning”.
• Establishment of a “census of cool islands and public fountains in the municipalities” by the prefectures.
• “Dissemination of prevention messages in transport”: what are the health risks, the risks of forest fires, but also the “good actions to adopt in airports, stations”.
• The FR-Alert alert system (system for alerting and informing populations in a danger zone so that they can adopt behaviors to protect themselves) “will integrate the risks associated with heat waves. An SMS with the good behavior will be sent to the inhabitants of the territories concerned”.

For vulnerable people and young people

• Vulnerable people will be encouraged to identify themselves in the nominative registers kept by the municipalities. For this measure will be mobilized young people performing their universal national service (SNU), but also the Post Office. “The postmen will make sure to drop off flyers and give information”, said Thursday June 8 on Franceinfo Christophe Béchu.
• These same young people will be requisitioned to “carry out actions to raise public awareness of the causes of global warming”.
• Awareness-raising actions with guardians who will have to “pay particular attention to people benefiting from a measure of protection and isolated and ensure that they are registered in the municipal registers”.
• The minister also announced “a control of rooms and premises refreshed near colleges and high schools”. This control will now take place every year.

For businesses and workers

• Creation of a “guide for companies”, among other things “to improve the temperature in offices”.
• “Intensification of labor inspection controls”, to “support companies in taking heat risk into account”.
• The transport of live animals will be prohibited between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. during heat waves.
• Companies will have to “exceptionally when there is a heat wave, make sure to be able to arrange schedules so as to avoid exposing the lives of workers working on construction sites”.

For sporting and cultural events

• From mid-June, “a census of these events in each department” must be made. The mayors will then have to “send to the prefects the list of events planned on their territory and the contacts of the organizers”.
• In the event of a heat wave or heat wave, “the organizers of sporting or cultural events, whose activity will have been informed beforehand, will be summoned by the department prefects to adapt their organization and put in place the measures that will have been discussed beforehand”. If the risks are high, the government has announced the possibility for prefects to cancel or postpone these events.