France recorded over 5,800 excess deaths during an intense heatwave that swept across the country between June 17 and July 2. A bulletin published Wednesday by France's public health agency, Santé publique France, revealed that 21,674 people died during this period, significantly higher than the 15,910 deaths that would normally have been expected.
This toll marks the highest excess all-cause mortality recorded during a heatwave since 2003, although it remains below the nearly 15,000 deaths attributed to the 2003 heatwave in France. The agency highlighted that, unlike previous heatwaves, the excess mortality this time extended well beyond the oldest age groups.
For the first time, excess all-cause mortality, not yet definitively linked to the heat, was observed across every age group from age 15 upward. Santé publique France described this finding as unprecedented, demonstrating the exceptional intensity and prolonged duration of population-wide heat exposure. While individuals aged 75 and over accounted for approximately two-thirds of the provisional death toll, with at least 3,719 excess deaths, the agency also estimated significant increases among younger adults.
The June heatwave was deemed exceptional not only for its early timing but also for its intensity and duration, which exposed nearly all of France’s population to extreme temperatures while schools and workplaces remained fully active. Deaths increased across all settings, including hospitals, private homes, and nursing homes, with almost half of these fatalities occurring in hospitals.
The public health agency emphasized that these findings underscore the urgent need to strengthen prevention measures before temperatures reach crisis levels. "These impacts highlight the importance of implementing management and prevention measures to reduce the impact of heat on the population without waiting for health impacts to become apparent," the agency stated.
In a broader European context, preliminary data from Western European countries in early July estimated over 4,000 additional deaths during the same heatwave. At the end of June, WHO Europe had called on governments to officially recognize extreme heat as a health crisis and to bolster health system preparedness.
