In a sweat-soaked T-shirt and regularly wetting his protective helmet, Karim, the leader of a group of workers at the tram line extension construction site in Marseille, tries his best to adapt to the unbearable heat.

“Our work is already difficult and now we are doing it under extreme conditions, but we are adapting as much as we can,” said the 41-year-old worker. “In any case, we have no choice, we have to work,” he added in frustration.

From 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the workers, wearing long pants and safety boots, try with compressors, sanders and digging machines to prepare the ground for the installation of the new tram lines that will serve, from 2025 onwards, the eastern districts of the city.

Karim, who did not reveal his last name for fear of reprisals from his employer, a subcontractor for the municipality of Marseille, always carries a second T-shirt these days. And he calls on workers to “take frequent breaks, drink water and sit in the shade.” But he lamented that the authorities do not want to change the working hours to curb the problem when the mercury climbs above 35 degrees Celsius. The reason they cite: the inconvenience that the works would cause to the residents if they were done in the early hours, but also other coordination problems.

In the neighboring province of Bouches-de-Rhône, Isabella, a tourist from Germany, chose to spend the day at the beach to beat the heat. “Without the breeze, the situation would be unbearable, it is too hot (…) In Berlin it is 37, 38, 39 degrees and there is no sea. This is climate change. We have to get used to it, although it’s not funny at all,” he said.

Near the same beach, Fara Amperaman declares herself “lucky” to live near the sea and spend her day there, instead of staying at home. “The situation at home is unbearable!” he said.

The authorities have mobilized to deal with the heat wave that is affecting Bouches-de-Rhône, Marseille and seven other departments in the south of France. In Marseille, Mayor Benoit Payan announced on Tuesday that entry to municipal swimming pools would be free “until the end of the heat wave”, meaning at least until Friday.

The “Emmaus” charity organization will start from tomorrow morning handing out buckets of cold water to the homeless, reminding that “just like in winter, the road kills”.

To the east of Bouches-de-Rhône, in the Var region, where the temperature broke all records (38.6 degrees in Op, at an altitude of 497 meters, on Tuesday), local authorities have forbidden access to two forests because there is a “serious risk” of fire. Weather service Météo France warned that thermometers could reach 40 degrees in some areas.

In Eros, which for days has been on alert due to the heat, a hall of the municipality of Montpellier will host for three days the homeless of the city, people considered among the most vulnerable. “There will be water, tables… it’s a rest area where everyone can come to cool off,” explained a Red Cross official, Guillaume Gonot.