Idleness. From the Italian: “do nothing”. In Rome today, the Italian expression that has entered the French vernacular to denote that state of idleness that corresponds to the holidays goes well with Nicolas, Aurélie and their small family. The couple, in their 40s from Paris, set off with a blended family on a month-long journey between Sicily, Naples and the Italian capital at the end of June and spends most of the day secluded in their apartment on the heights of the Italian island capital.
“We spend our nights and days with the air conditioning on and we go out around 5 p.m. to enjoy a few pleasant hours,” says Nicolas. Full sun over Italy. From Rome to Bologna via Florence, tourists walk the alleys in the shadows, sometimes turning a blind eye when it comes to visiting certain places without vegetation, such as the Colosseum in Rome or Pompeii in the south of Naples.
“Outside the air is hot, it’s oppressive”
“In the last few days I’ve seen four tourists, including young people in their 20s, who were unwell, throwing up, victims of sunstroke, perhaps in the middle of the street, in Rome or Pompeii,” says Nicolas again, a tall one 45-year-old man who “has never drank so much water in his life” with his son and daughter and is surprised “to have to change his t-shirt three times a day”. “A holiday first.
Aurélie and Nicolas, a French tourist couple on vacation in Rome, here at the Baths of Caracalla, are suffering from the heatwave in Italy. LP/Rose Sansonetti-Nauche
“Outside the air is hot, it’s oppressive. We open the door and enter an oven. One night we forgot to turn on the air conditioner. I woke up swimming like I just got out of a swimming pool. With air conditioning, showers and repeated laundry, this holiday will be the least ecological we have ever experienced! “says Aurélie, his companion, who despite everything, is delighted with her holiday in Italy, both by the atmosphere and by the visits.
While France has been less affected by heatwaves this year than last year, this month of July we’re cooking in Italy, where sixteen major cities have just gone on heatwave alert, including Bologna, Florence, Rome and Cagliari in Sardinia, Palermo and Catania in Sicily . Along with North America and China, the Mediterranean is one of the three regions of the world currently experiencing intense heat, while the world record temperature of 54.4°C in the Valley of Death, California (USA) could soon be broken.
“The worst is yet to come around the Mediterranean”
“We saw up to 46°C in Algeria and Tunisia on Saturday. It affects not only sandy beaches, but also coastal areas,” observes meteorologist Guillaume Séchet. This feeling of steam should be strengthened. “The worst is yet to come for the people currently in the Mediterranean. It’s likely to become unbearable by the end of next week. It could be just two degrees warmer, but if it’s already very hot, it works,” warns the creator of the website Météo Villes. “It could be 43C in Rome on Tuesday, beating last year’s record of 40.8C in the Italian capital. »
A situation that is all the more worrying given that this year French tourists have returned en masse to Italy, but also to Spain or Greece, where they will surely find the sea and the blue sky. “For the first time since 2019, we are facing a pre-Corona situation in which the French prefer bathing destinations in southern Europe,” explains Didier Arino, tourism expert and CEO of Protourisme. These countries are the top destinations for French people abroad this summer: 40% have their sights set on Spain and one in five French people choose southern Europe. »
Should we change course? Not at all, says Patrick Pelloux, president of the French Association of Emergency Doctors (Amuf), who only advises people with chronic illnesses to go to areas with temperatures above 40 degrees. “It is important that those moving out keep up with the rhythm of the population, especially in the southernmost regions. When it is extremely hot, usually between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., it is essential to avoid leaving the house and to keep the windows closed,” warns the emergency doctor.
“The cancer that is on the rise in France is skin cancer”
Before we get to the point: “Let’s stop this culture of going to the beach at lunchtime and having a barbecue in the middle of the car!” The most common cancer in France is skin cancer. He also invites vacationers to drink water and encourages those around them to drink. If we don’t urinate, there’s a deficiency: “If we change a child and the diaper is dry, it’s because they absolutely need to be rehydrated.”
“From 40 °C, tourists don’t stroll through the streets anyway,” reassures Didier Arino, who expects few cancellations. “We should see a drop of between 5% and 15% on certain targets. Most tourists have already booked and do not receive a refund. Those who can are already relieved.
This is the case of Lyliane and Jacques, 80 and 78, from Biarritz, who wanted to leave for Tuscany at the end of July, exchanging their villa with an Italian family from Florence. Fearing the upcoming heatwave, the couple just changed their tune. Direction: the French Pyrenees and a pretty village bordered by a river. “There will be air. At my age, I can’t take the heat anymore,” Lyliane says.
Jacques and Lyliane can rest easy: in France, temperatures are likely to climb up to 36 or 37° at the beginning of the week in certain regions like the south-east, but this will remain temporary. “On Tuesday, the heat will invade France very temporarily, with perhaps up to 41 in Corsica and the Var,” specifies Guillaume Séchet. Nicolas and Aurélie return to their Parisian homes that same day, but the next day temperatures return to normal, except in Languedoc and Provence.