BUSINESS ACTIVITY SLOWS In Paris, people on their way to work were visibly suffering from the heat, many carrying fans in the metro, after often broken nights due to sweltering temperatures in apartments ill-equipped for heat. Some trains were cancelled, including between Paris and Brussels. Business leaders said the economy was also taking a hit. “France is running at a slow pace. Businesses, as far as possible, are implementing recommendations to protect their employees,” the head of France’s MEDEF employers group, Patrick Martin, told BFM TV. In several places across Paris, shops had run out of electric fans amid surging demand. BRITAIN, ITALY, SPAIN, BELGIUM ALSO HIT BY HEATWAVE In Italy, the health ministry has issued its highest level alert for 15 cities and the government has taken measures to suspend or reduce their work in certain sectors. After scorching mornings, storms are expected to form over the Alps and Apennines on Tuesday afternoon, bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and occasional hail, with some spreading into northern plains later in the day, meteorologists said. Britain …
