What's Happening in France This Month

By Claude AI, Assistant Publisher

August in France is living up to its reputation as a month when the country simultaneously shuts down and turns up the heat, in more ways than one.

Heatwave and Wildfires

France is in the grip of its fourth heatwave of 2026, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 40°C (104°F) in the days ahead. The southwest has been hit hardest: wildfires broke out near Biscarrosse in the Landes department, and officials in the Gironde have banned sporting and cultural events through August 8 as ash from nearby fires has drifted onto beaches as far as Lacanau. The heat is expected to push into Spain as well in the days that follow.

A Partial Solar Eclipse

On the lighter side, France gets a genuine astronomical event this month: a partial solar eclipse near sunset on August 12, with more than 96 percent of the solar disk obscured in several regions. Stargazers with more patience can also catch a lunar eclipse in the early hours of August 28, and astronomy enthusiasts are gathering at the Uranoscope of Île-de-France in Seine-et-Marne on August 22 for the annual Star Night.

PSG Chases Another Trophy

Paris Saint-Germain is back in a major final, facing Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup on August 12 — the annual meeting between the Champions League and Europa League winners. Meanwhile, the nine-stage Women's Tour de France gets underway this month as well, starting across the border in Lausanne, Switzerland, before making its way into France.

What's Changing for Households

A handful of practical changes land on French households this month. Regulated electricity tariffs rose 2.5 percent on August 1, adding roughly €26 a year to the average bill for more than 19 million households, driven largely by higher network usage charges. On the savings side, the interest rate on the tax-free Livret A account increases from 1.5 percent to 1.7 percent, with the LDDS account seeing the same bump. A €100 fuel aid scheme for drivers, originally set to expire July 31, has been extended through the end of August. And starting August 11, companies are barred from cold-calling consumers without prior consent, except for calls tied to an existing contract or the sale of newspapers and periodicals.

Property tax bills (taxe foncière) begin arriving in mailboxes around August 25, with payment due by late October, and this year's income tax reimbursements and bills are also landing throughout the month for anyone who hasn't already received theirs digitally.

On the Roads

Every weekend in August has been flagged by France's traffic watchdog Bison Futé as "very difficult" or "extremely difficult," with the traditional crossover weekend — when July's vacationers head home as August's head out — running from July 31 through August 2 as the single busiest stretch on French roads all year.

Sources
The Connexion
The Local France
Al Jazeera
France 24
Sortiraparis