France 'could be on verge of water crisis', minister warns - BBC News

France could be on the verge of a water crisis for next summer following an ongoing winter drought, a government minister has warned.

Parts of the country have had little or no rain in recent weeks and water levels have dropped alarmingly.

Bérangère Couillard, a French junior environment minister, said the government was "in process of acting upon" the situation.

Last year was France's hottest year on record, according to national weather agency Météo-France. Records were also broken elsewhere in Europe - in the UK, Spain and Italy.