PARIS: France recorded a sharp increase in deaths during the peak of its record-breaking June heatwave, with fatalities rising by nearly 30 percent in the week beginning June 22, according to figures released by the country’s public health authority on Friday.
Public Health France said mortality increased by 29.1 per cent, equivalent to 2,025 additional deaths compared with the previous week. However, officials cautioned that the latest figures are likely to underestimate the final toll, as reporting is still being updated.
The Paris region experienced the most significant rise, with deaths climbing by 62 percent over the same period. A similarly marked increase was also recorded in the western region of Pays de la Loire.
The surge followed an intense heatwave that gripped France for around 11 days in June, pushing temperatures above 40°C in many areas. The extreme weather disrupted daily life across the country, forcing the closure of schools, causing transport disruptions and prompting widespread public health warnings.
According to health officials, the increase in mortality was overwhelmingly concentrated among people aged 45 and above, with those aged 65 and older accounting for the largest proportion of deaths.
Authorities also noted a particularly steep rise in fatalities occurring at home, with such deaths nearly doubling within a week. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has acknowledged that more people died in their homes during the latest heatwave than in previous episodes.
The government’s response to the crisis has come under political scrutiny, with the administration facing a possible no-confidence vote in parliament as early as Monday over its handling of the heatwave.
Critics have argued that France remains inadequately prepared for increasingly frequent and intense periods of extreme heat linked to climate change.
The country continues to bear the legacy of the devastating 2003 heatwave, which claimed around 15,000 lives, many of them elderly residents in nursing homes. Although officials describe this year’s heatwave as more intense in terms of temperatures, they believe its overall human impact is likely to be less severe.
Health Minister Stephanie Rist said the final death toll was unlikely to approach the scale of the 2003 disaster.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Revel, Director General of the Paris public hospital system, said he expected the number of deaths linked to this year’s heatwave to remain below the 2003 total but “probably” exceed the approximately 5,700 deaths associated with last year’s extreme heat.
The Greens party has suggested that the June heatwave may have caused as many as 10,000 deaths, a claim strongly rejected by Prime Minister Lecornu.
France had already experienced an unusually early spell of extreme heat in May, during which public health officials estimated there were at least 300 more deaths than expected, further highlighting the growing health risks posed by recurring heatwaves.
