A new sound settles in Lyon, and says global warming at work. This is the song of the cicadas. For two years, the strident cry of the southern insect has been accentuated in the soundscape of the capital of Gaul. Since the start of this summer, it has intensified in parks, squares, along the boulevards, as the people of Lyon face a new heat wave. The prefecture has placed the Rhône department on alert “heat wave yellow”in anticipation of temperatures that could reach 40 degrees this weekend.
Early in the evening of Tuesday July 12, Mathilde Cecchi, 21, hurried across Place Guichard, in the 3e district of Lyon, holding at arm’s length a fan packed in a cardboard box. The student runs to equip her two-piece, before the announced heat period. “The apartment is on the first floor, it gets stuffy very quickly, even with the windows open. It’s a little hard, but the ventilator will help me”, confides the student, originally from Brittany. Like her, Lyon city dwellers are getting organized and changing their way of life in the face of the ambient heat.
“Collective Mobilization”
A little further, place Bahadourian, Monique, 63, enjoys the coolness of the evening, sitting on a bench with her sister. The young retiree from the public service anticipated the period, knowingly. “We adapt, we change our habits. Since the heat wave of 2003, these periods have returned regularly., notes Monique, who does not wish to give her name. If the heat wave lasts, she plans to reuse the tricks they had devised at her workplace, when she cooked in her non-air-conditioned office. “We put a wet paper towel in front of the fan, it gave us cooler air. When it became too difficult, we put a plate with ice cubes or frozen packets »confides the former civil servant, amused at the memory of a little secret, shared with her office colleague: “When we suffered a hot spell in 2018, we put basins of water under our desk, we soaked our feet in cool water, without anyone seeing it! »
In recent days, the city has changed its rhythm of life. During the day, the streets are deserted. In the evening, the squares fill up, the terraces come alive. “We work little during the day, customers arrive late, not before 7 p.m. We adapt our deliveries », testifies Nabil Ledgiri, 51, owner of the bar Le Fennec. Its terrace is happily filled, this Wednesday evening, near avenue de Saxe, in Lyon 3e. In the nearby alleys, families picnic on benches, couples chat, single people consult their mobile phones, in a shady atmosphere.
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