France saw a record level of traffic jams on Saturday, as cars were stopped on roads stretching 820 km across a country experiencing a severe heat wave.
Traffic authorities said that the peak was recorded in the afternoon, easily surpassing the record for this year and recorded last Saturday by 760 km, and the previous record of 762 km was recorded on August 3 of last year.
The country has been witnessing a heat wave since Thursday, and temperatures have reached 40 degrees Celsius in a number of regions.
In the southwest, Brive-Lagayard set a record of 40.8 degrees on Friday, as did cognac with 39.8 degrees, while Nantes, in the west of the country, set a new record of 39.6. The heat wave is expected to continue until Wednesday.
The high temperatures exacerbated the pressure with the increasing spread of the Corona virus in the country, as the number of daily infections reached 2,288 on Friday.
The authorities have reminded citizens of the need to continue wearing masks in public and closed places, despite the heat.
Last year was the hottest in France, and the meteorological agency Meteo France warned that climate warming could double the number of heat waves by 2050.