Taking office Monday, the 42 year old said he intends to lead through dialogue and proximity rather than dictate from behind a desk, launching new water assizes on resource sharing and a territorial housing conference before year's end.
Météo France forecasters say the country has never recorded four heatwaves in a single warm season before, with the first peak expected Wednesday and Thursday before a second, potentially stronger wave arrives in early August.
The préfecture describes the situation as "alarming," with rainfall 15.5% below normal since September and 81% of monitored groundwater levels running low.
Nearly six years after Storm Alex devastated the village, mayor Sébastien Olharan says the roughly 90 million euros needed for reconstruction has been secured, but the commune can't advance payment for work until after invoices are settled.
The mountain village's Fête du Pain returns July 31 to August 2, with 500kg of bread baked in the town's communal oven alongside demonstrations of forgotten rural trades.
The medieval hilltop village's fête patronale runs through Wednesday, mixing a traditional communal meal, religious ceremonies and funfair rides with concerts, pétanque and a closing DJ set.
Le Planning Familial des Alpes-Maritimes, which supported nearly 7,000 people last year, says payment delays of three to four months on state subsidies have left it with almost no visibility over its finances.
Around 180 caravans belonging to the Mission Évangélique des Tziganes de France have settled into the village's Grand Pré for their annual summer stay, with the mayor calling for other Alpes-Maritimes communes to share the burden.
The département has extended its red alert closure into the weekend as fire crews remain deployed both locally and in reinforcement further afield.
The seventh edition of the free astronomy festival runs through Sunday inside an internationally certified dark sky reserve, with a newly opened 12 metre immersive planetarium as its centrepiece.
Flyde, formerly known as Drones for Yachts, begins daily deliveries to vessels at sea from August 1, bringing its five year old superyacht delivery service to a permanent local base for the first time.
Fourteen participants were found consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms and psychotropic plant preparations when investigators raided a property following a nine month inquiry.