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Shelter from the sun: During the heat wave of the past few days, people sought shelter in the shade in many places, like here in Toulouse
Photo: Alain Pitton / NurPhoto / IMAGO
In the south of France, water reserves are running out due to the ongoing drought.
The AFP news agency reports that the spring, which supplies the 760-inhabitant town of Villars-sur-Var north of Nice with drinking water, is no longer getting enough water due to the weeks of drought.
Now the village has taken sharp measures: brushing your teeth and drinking from the tap are currently prohibited, as the municipality announced.
The water from the tap should not be used for cooking, it said.
In order to ensure the supply, each resident is currently receiving two bottles of drinking water per day from the town hall.
The responsible water supply company has already found a new extraction point.
However, the investigation of the water quality is not yet complete, it said.
At the end of May, the prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes had already rationed the water.
Washing cars, filling private pools and watering lawns have since been banned in the department that includes Nice and the Côte d'Azur.
Heatwave subsided
The heat wave that swept through France last week has now abated.
It was the earliest hot spell in France since weather records began.
It has exacerbated the drought that has persisted in some parts of the country since the winter and spring were dry.
fek/AFP