Madrid (AFP) - The scramble for protective glasses has reached fever pitch across Europe ahead of Wednesday’s rare total solar eclipse, as pharmacies, opticians and other shops struggled to keep them in stock.

In Spain, where parts of the country will be in the path of totality, finding certified protective glasses has become increasingly difficult, with many distribution points reporting they have run out.

A notice posted at the entrance of Madrid’s National Museum of Natural Sciences said its supply of protective glasses was exhausted.

The museum was among 30 science institutions across the country taking part in a campaign organised by the government to distribute two million pairs of glasses for free.

Some pharmacies in central Madrid still had supplies Tuesday, generally selling certified glasses for safely viewing the Sun for between three and four euros ($4.60) a pair.

But Carles Sisquella, who runs an optical shop in Barcelona, said his store had been out of stock for 10 days.

“There are now a lot of people who obviously won’t be able to get glasses,” he said.

Doctors warn that looking directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse can damage the retina, potentially harming the cells responsible for sharp central vision.

“I’ve been asking around since Friday, but they’re nowhere to be found,” a woman named Mabel told AFP in Barcelona after another fruitless search.

French supermarket chain Carrefour’s Spanish unit said demand for eclipse glasses has “grown exponentially”, increasing twentyfold in recent days compared with the same period last month.

- ‘Gone in 30 minutes’ -

The rush is being repeated across Europe.

In Brussels, where about 90 percent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon, people were also racing to find glasses.

With a seeming majority of opticians and pharmacists out of stock, pastry chef Arno Dossogne, 37, struck gold at a small opticians’ store that received a last-minute shipment Monday afternoon.

“I got some for me, my boyfriend and a couple of friends whose online order got cancelled!” he told AFP.

“It was this or nothing. You can’t mess around, or you’ll burn your eyes.”

The opticians’ manager Fouad Mehdaoui told AFP he acted on a tip from his pharmacist wife, placing large orders of glasses early on, but even then was outrun by demand and had to order more.

“Two boxes just came in with 100 pairs in total – they were gone in 30 minutes,” he told AFP as a stream of eclipse enthusiasts filed in the store, by chance or word of mouth, and an employee fielded non-stop phone enquiries.

In France, where the eclipse will be partial, some pharmacies have been stripped of their supplies while others were still receiving shipments – and charging significantly more.

Customers lined up outside La Pharmacie du Soleil in Paris on Monday afternoon to buy glasses for 5.95 euros a pair, only to be disappointed when staff displayed an empty box.

- ‘Pure madness’ -

The pharmacist asked customers to check back later, saying another shipment of 500 pairs was expected that evening.

“Come back in an hour or tomorrow morning,” he told customers. “It’s pure madness.”

Philippe Besset, president of France’s Federation of Pharmaceutical Trade Unions, said demand had been far greater than expected.

A few months ago, suppliers had offered pharmacies around 200 pairs each, enough to equip about four million people, he told AFP.

“But obviously more people want to watch the eclipse,” he said.

Marine Tondelier, leader of France’s Greens, accused the government of failing to properly prepare for the eclipse, calling the struggle to secure glasses a “fiasco”.

She contrasted it with the 1999 eclipse, when more than 30 million approved glasses were distributed nationwide.

In Rome, Claudia Rinaldi of eyewear shop Vision Optika said a first batch of eclipse glasses “sold out almost immediately”.

Her store was hoping to receive a second shipment by Wednesday morning, with customers already calling to ask about their availability.

The shortage has prompted eye specialists to warn people against buying uncertified alternatives.

In Spain, authorities on Monday withdrew six models from the market because of the risk of eye injuries.

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