French riot police tear-gassed climate protesters in Paris on Friday as the county sweltered under record heat.

Activists with Extinction Rebellion (XR) were occupying a bridge over the Seine to demand the French government declare a climate emergency and take necessary action to avert planetary catastrophe.

"We need to civilly disrupt because, otherwise, nothing is going to be done," a British woman who took part in the protest told Euronews.

Video shows the police teargassing the protesters at a close range and then forcibly trying to remove them from the scene.

French police using tear gas or pepper spray on peaceful XR protestors sitting down occupying a bridge in Paris today: pic.twitter.com/VqsHHRuG4W — Extinction Symbol (@extinctsymbol) June 28, 2019

350 Europe described the display of police violence as "shocking."

Meanwhile, on the hottest day in the history of France, here’s shocking video of police spraying tear gas in the faces of climate activists in Paris. This happened today. Do not look away. https://t.co/F43YoxANT5 — Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) June 28, 2019 La police doucement, on fait ça pour vos enfants chantent les militant.e.s de @XtinctionRebel face aux #violencespolicières pic.twitter.com/MVcwvAGkpv SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. Get our best delivered to your inbox.





— Paris en commun (@Paris_en_commun) June 28, 2019

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen who ignited the School Strike for Climate movement, said on social media: "Watch this video and ask yourself; who is defending who?"

The action also drew praise from the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, who gave props to the protesters for "putting their bodies on the line for climate justice."

The XR action took place as temperatures hovered in near 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32° C) in Paris—far cooler than in some other parts of the country.

At almost the same time as French police tear gas #ExtinctionRebellion protesters in Paris, the temperature in the south of the country has broken all-time records. We are in an emergency. Governments must #TellTheTruth and #ActNow.#RebelForLife. https://t.co/O2y4AAHclV — Extinction Rebellion Berlin (@XRBerlin) June 28, 2019

The French meteorological agency said that temperatures topped 45° C (113° F) for the first time on the books, with the threshold being passed in three cities.

The steamiest reading was in Gallargues-le-Montueux, where it hit 45.9 °C (114.6° F) in the late afternoon.