Hot August in France

If you are one of the lucky ones to be or have been in France this month, you will have most likely experienced some lovely warm weather:

"Oh la la, il fait lourd!" - It's heavy/humid.
"Il fait un soleil de plomb" - The sun is scorching hot.
"C'est la canicule" - It's a heat wave.
"J'ai besoin d'un peu de fraicheur" - I need a bit of coolness.

The situation in the UK was slightly different:

"Il pleut à verse" - It's raining cats and dogs.
"Il pleut/tombe des cordes" - It's raining heavily.
"Ca s'éclaircit, vite sortons le barbecue!" - It's brightening up, let's get the BBQ out.