Live: Paris Pride postponed, drowning death toll rises as Europe swelters in record heatwave

Organisers of the Paris Pride March on Friday postponed the annual event scheduled for Saturday after police ordered them to change the date to avoid overwhelming response services already under pressure due to extreme heat. The death toll from heatwave-related drownings in France rose to 55, according to authorities. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. At least 150 mn people in Europe face temperatures above 35C At least 150 million people in Europe, including more than 50 million in Germany and more than 30 million in France, are expected to experience temperatures above 35C on Friday, AFP calculations found. Maximum temperatures are forecast to exceed 30C for more than 420 million people across Europe (excluding Turkey), around 70 percent of the population. AFP's analysis, based on forecasts from the German Meteorological Service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre, is in line with figures from Austrian NGO Klimadashboard. Organisers postpone Paris Pride March due to heatwave Organisers of the Paris Pride March postponed the event after police ordered them to change the date to avoid overwhelming response services already under pressure due to extreme heat. "The march has been postponed," said Anouk Veyret, co-president of the Inter-LGBT association. "We're thinking of holding it in September, but the whole team needs to meet to see how we can bounce back." Paris police had said they would ban the event for LGBTQ rights on Saturday afternoon if organisers did not comply. They also ordered that a series of concerts at a Paris racetrack from Friday to Sunday and a track and field meet scheduled for Sunday be held at a later date. Drowning death toll rises to 55 in France amid heatwave At least 55 people have drowned in France amid a severe heatwave, the sports minister said Friday, warning the death toll could rise further. "Yesterday evening we were at 55, but we fear that the situation may worsen," Sports Minister Marina Ferrari told broadcaster franceinfo. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said earlier this week that 40 people -- many of them young -- had drowned since June 18, many while swimming in unauthorised places to escape the searing heat. Hello and welcome to our live coverage as Europe swelters with a record-breaking heatwave.