Overview
- Météo‑France extended its highest heat alert to 54 departments after dramatic temperature spikes, with more than 90% of the population under red or orange warnings and nationwide June records reported.
- Officials and prosecutors linked multiple recent deaths to the heat, including three elderly people in Gironde and two young children found dead in a parked car at Carpentras, while emergency services reported a sharp rise in calls and at least 13 drownings over the weekend.
- The heat has forced large-scale disruptions to daily life: thousands of schools and colleges closed or changed hours, preventive cuts and reduced services were ordered on some rail lines, and Enedis warned that older underground cables risk faults or outages as soil temperatures climb.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an interministerial crisis cell and authorities mobilised extra medical and civil‑protection resources as ministers warned the episode could last several more days and urged special care for the elderly and outdoor workers.
- The episode has sharpened policy debate: climate experts say rising heatwave intensity is linked to human‑driven warming, political parties have proposed measures such as a paid 'climate leave', and commentators say adaptation remains largely reactive rather than structural.