What can France learn from Spain's heatwave protection for workers?

After last week's heatwave put 72 mainland French departments on red alert, Green party leader Marine Tondelier announced her party would table a bill introducing up to five days of "climate leave" a year to protect workers from extreme temperatures.

The bill will be sponsored by MP Damien Girard and tabled "in the coming days and weeks", he said.

Spain introduced a similar measure in November 2024 after floods in Valencia killed more than 230 people. Many of the victims were trapped in their cars after travelling to work despite extreme weather warnings.

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Spanish model

The Spanish law provides for "up to four days of paid leave in the event that it is impossible to reach the workplace" and "in the event of a serious and imminent risk, particularly in the event of disasters or severe weather".

Someone in Spain could potentially claim this weather-related leave during a heatwave, although there are currently no figures showing that this has happened.

This is not the country's first measure designed to protect workers in the event of extreme heat.

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"Firstly, companies must try to put measures in place such as shifting work to cooler times of day by adjusting working hours, for example, or by reducing the working day," Monica Perez Cardoso, head of occupational health at Spain's largest trade union confederation, Workers' Commissions, said.

"Time off is not automatically granted. It is only possible if these other measures do not work, or if the authorities issue a warning stating that work must not be carried out during those hours."

Last summer, four people died at work in Spain because of the heat.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French by RFI's correspondent in Barcelona, Elise Gazengel.