BBC:
France is bracing for another day of exceptionally hot weather, with more than half the country remaining under a red heat alert on Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power in western Brittany, while a major wildfire was brought under control overnight in the Maine-et-Loire region.
It comes after the country experienced its hottest June day since records began on Tuesday, with an average temperature of 29.8C (85.54F) recorded.
The heatwave is expected to spread to other parts of western Europe on Wednesday, with an orange alert for dangerous weather in place for parts of the Netherlands.
Temperatures are expected to peak in the Netherlands and Belgium on Friday, while Germany is expected to see the mercury rise to 40C (104F) over the weekend.
The heatwave is also expected to spread to eastern Europe over the next few days, with severe heat warnings issued for countries including Poland, Croatia and Hungary for later in the week.
So far, France, Spain and Italy have been hardest hit by the heatwave.
Forty people have drowned in heatwave-related incidents in France since last Thursday, according to the prime minister.
On Wednesday, red alerts in France were extended to include four more regions, forecaster Météo France said, bringing the total number to 58.Thirty-one more regions are under an orange alert.
