Philadelphia awaits France amid searing heat and 250th Independence celebrations | OneFootball

France arrive in Philadelphia on Friday, a city gripped by extreme heat and 250th Independence celebrations. The squad will be based at The Notary Hotel, beside City Hall.

According to L'Équipe, a few steps away at Independence Hall by the Liberty Bell, founders including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin announced the Declaration on 4 July 1776. Tens of thousands have poured in for a Friday parade with hundreds of floats for all 50 states, a Benjamin Franklin Parkway concert featuring Christina Aguilera, Will Smith and The Roots, and fireworks on Saturday.

Across the city, flags, bunting, stages and road closures have gone up, with police drafted in. Pope Leon XIV will receive the Medal of Freedom on Friday in the Vatican, with his address screened at the National Constitution Center.

Philadelphia is under a heat alert and has never previously logged four straight days above 100F, around 38C. With little breeze and feels-like temperatures of 40 to 43C, officials have added water stations, shortened the parade route and cancelled the France v Paraguay screening at Lemon Hill.

The Bleus train on Friday afternoon at the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFL facility. On Saturday at 17:00 local, 23:00 in France, they face Paraguay, who showed little sign of discomfort on Wednesday. Any new chapter for the Bleus will have to be written in this heat.

Source: L'Équipe