Paris Fete de la Musique to go ahead Sunday despite heatwave, minister says

PARIS- Paris will hold its annual Fete de la Musique celebrations as planned on June 21 though outdoor sports events have been cancelled in the French capital as a heatwave will intensify from Sunday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday.

"Music festivals remain unaffected," Nunez told reporters, when asked if the Paris Fete de la Musique was maintained.

Elsewhere in France, it was up to local authorities to assess risks, Nunez said. In Brive in the southwest, authorities, for instance, have canceled their Fete de la Musique.

Some 53 departments or administrative districts moved to orange heatwave alert on Friday and from Sunday parts of France were likely to move into red alert with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius at night and 40 C during daytime, Nunez said.

French weather service Meteo-France has warned the heatwave would be "widespread, prolonged and intense", with temperatures seen peaking at 40 C and above in west and central France from Sunday to Tuesday and historic records possibly broken. The heatwave could last through next week.

In Paris and the Ile-de-France region, highs of around 36 to 37 C (97 to 99 Fahrenheit) are forecast from Sunday, close to monthly records for June.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Aurora Ellis)