Overview
- Santé publique France said roughly 1,000 excess deaths were recorded since Wednesday, June 24, and about 85% of those were people aged 65 or older.
- Health minister Stéphanie Rist warned that heat-related illnesses can appear days after peak temperatures and that emergency and chronic-care needs may persist for weeks.
- Hospitals in Paris and surrounding areas have reached near-saturation, placing immediate strain on emergency departments and bed capacity.
- Only about 60% of French death certificates are electronic, so paper records and nursing-home reports are still being processed and could raise the official total.
- The heatwave shattered temperature records across Western Europe, disrupted rail, power and school services in France, and is shifting eastward, which could prolong stress on health and infrastructure systems.