Drought water restriction extended to 74 departments

The extension reflects a dramatic rise in departments affected since the 19 identified at the beginning of June.

The four levels of the ban, from less serious to more serious, are: ‘Vigilance’ - asking users to save water where they can; ‘Alert’ - a ban on garden sprinklers and watering, and on refilling swimming pools; ‘Reinforced Alert’ - An extra ban on further activities such as car washing; and ‘Crisis’ - A ban on all non-emergency use of water.

The map issued by the Ecology Minister (ministère de l'Ecologie) shows the levels as grey, yellow, orange, and red respectively.

You can also check your department’s level at your local Mairie, where there will be posters displayed. The alert level is also likely to be published in your local newspaper.

The full list of departments affected, by number:

Aisne - 02, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence - 04, Ardèche - 07, Ardennes - 08, Ariège - 09, Aube - 10

Aude - 11, Aveyron - 12, Calvados - 14, Cantal - 16, Charente-Maritime - 17, Cher - 18, Corse du Sud - 2A, Côte-d'Or - 21, Côtes-d'Armor - 22, Creuse - 23, Dordogne - 24, Doubs - 25, Drôme - 26, Eure - 27, Eure-et-Loir - 28, Haute-Corse - 2B

Gard - 30, Haute-Garonne - 31, Gers - 32, Gironde - 33, Hérault - 34, Ille-et-Villaine - 35, Indre - 36, Indre-et-Loire - 37, Isère - 38, Jura - 39

Landes - 40, Loir-et-Cher - 41, Loire - 42, Loire-Atlantique - 44, Loiret - 45, Lot - 46, Lot-et-Garonne - 47, Lozère - 48, Maine-et-Loire - 49

Marne - 51, Haute-Marne - 52, Mayenne - 53, Meurthe-et-Moselle - 54, Meuse - 55, Morbihan - 56, Moselle - 57, Nièvre - 58, Nord - 59

Oise - 60, Orne - 61, Pas-de-Calais - 62, Pyrénées-Atlantiques - 64, Pyrénées-Orientales - 66, Rhône - 69, Haute-Saône - 70, Saône-et-Loire - 71, Savoie - 73, Seine-Maritime - 76 , Seine-Maritime - 77, Deux-Sèvres - 79

Somme - 80, Tarn - 81, Tarn-et-Garonne - 82, Var - 83, Vaucluse - 84, Vendée - 85, Vienne - 86, Haute-Vienne - 87, Vosges - 88, Yonne - 89

Territoire de Belfort - 90, and Val d’Oise - 95