France, Jan. 25 -- France has announced what it calls a "daily sobriety plan" to slash water consumption following a severe drought last summer that parched most of the country.

The measures were presented Wednesday in daily newspaper Le Parisien by Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Bechu, who spoke of measuring water in "ecowatts" and overhauling the country's water treatment system.

The average consumption of 150 litres of water per person per day was not sustainable, the minister said.

"There will be a before and after 'summer of 2022'," Bechu added, calling on all sectors to make an effort to cut down on water use, including farmers.'No choice'

With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting a 10 to 40 percen...