A record temperature was recorded in France yesterday when, in Carpentras, in the south-eastern Vaucluse département, the mercury hit 44.3C, breaking the previous record of 44.1C set in Montpellier and Nîmes in August 2003.

Paris escaped renewed urban violence overnight but 374 vehicles were set alight elsewhere in France, according to police reports.

Thousands of police guarded the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees and train stations, as part of emergency measures enacted in response to text messages and Internet postings that called for “violent actions” in Paris.

Some 3,000 police fanned out around Paris today ahead of feared weekend attacks on high-profile targets such as the Eiffel Tower, as the number of vehicles torched overnight rose slightly elsewhere in France, according to officials.