Heatwave in France: the consequences of heat waves on the country's economy

This text is a portion of the transcript of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full.

Fruits are not ripening as soon as expected because it's very hot . In an orchard in Villaudric, near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), there's no choice. Laetitia Guilbert must harvest now before her apples and nectarines rot. " My only fear is that everything will arrive at the same time. I don't have a cold room and we have to sell the harvest. So that's my fear," she confides.

The risk is a loss of revenue. From agriculture to industry, extreme heat slows the economy. Nuclear power plants have to be shut down, trains are canceled, and some businesses are deserted.

For those who work, productivity declines. Above 32 degrees, work efficiency drops by 40%, and 67% above 38 degrees. In a bakery in Val-d'Oise, when the mercury rises, making bread becomes more demanding. " We go slower as we go, of course. Naps are important for us, " laughs Fabien Philippe.

On the shop side, fewer customers and a reduced appetite. " We have more than 15% fewer customers, but people, instead of buying a sandwich with a pastry and a drink, they'll take the drink and say: not the pastry. It's really more complicated at the moment, it's much quieter," says Christophe Rouget, the bakery's founder.

The heatwave could cost France 0.3 points of GDP, or nearly 9 billion euros.

Allianz - Study "The economic cost of heat waves"

Non-exhaustive list