Overview
- Indoor temperatures in the Isle Verte primary school in Soustons climbed to roughly 53–54°C, leading officials to end afternoon classes after at least one child fainted and several pupils vomited.
- The town installed water sprayers on the schoolyard and granted affected families free access to a nearby outdoor pool as immediate relief for the roughly 350 pupils.
- Local officials pointed to a glazed corridor with single‑pane roofing, built in the mid‑1980s, as the cause of the rapid indoor overheating and said full renovation will take at least two years.
- The school incident comes during a wider southern European heatwave that has placed 17 French departments under high heat warnings and been linked by scientists to more frequent extreme heat from human‑caused climate change.
- Beyond direct health risks to children, authorities say the episode highlights strain on public services and buildings without modern cooling and could force more short‑term measures in other vulnerable schools and transport systems.