France endured a rise of nearly 30% in the number of deaths recorded during the week of June 22, the peak of a record-breaking heatwave that battered the country, the public health authority said Friday (July 3, 2026).

Public Health France said in a new report there had been “an increase of 29.1%, corresponding to 2,025 additional deaths compared with the previous week” while noting that the figure was probably “an underestimate”.

The number of deaths increased by 62% in the Paris region during the week starting 22 June, the report said. A similar spike has been reported in the Pays de la Loire region.

Some French politicians have denounced what they call the authorities’ inadequate measures to help France face rising temperatures. The Greens on Thursday (July 2, 2026) filed a no-confidence motion against the government of Sebastien Lecornu.

In June, France experienced a record-breaking heatwave which lasted around 11 days and saw temperatures climb above 40°C in many places.

Around 15,000 people died in France during a severe heatwave in 2003, with many elderly people dying in nursing homes.

The June heatwave is considered more intense, but authorities say its consequences have been less severe.

“It will probably not be comparable,” Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Friday (July 3, 2026).

Nicolas Revel, director general of the Paris public hospital system, has said he expected the death toll from the June heatwave to be lower than that of 2003, but “probably” higher than an episode last year that claimed 5,700 lives.

The World Health Organization said on Sunday (June 28, 2026) that over 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 in connection with the record-breaking heatwave roasting much of the continent.

Tens of millions have been braving a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with some countries announcing rising death tolls and health services warning of saturation.

On Sunday morning (June 28, 2026), French health officials said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in that country just since Wednesday (June 24, 2026).

And across Europe, “more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe”, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he said.

At least 191 million people are forecast to endure temperatures of at least 35℃ on Sunday (June 28, 2026) in Europe, with the heat particularly intense in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, according to AFP estimates.

A total of 381 million people in Europe, excluding Türkiye, will see temperatures surpass 30℃, according to analysis based on forecasts from the German Meteorological Service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre collated by Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.

Millions of people across the continent are currently “living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling”, Mr. Tedros warned.

“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annual,” he said, pointing out that “Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average”.

The WHO chief said the United Nations health agency was “working with its Member States and partners to address the health threats posed by extreme heat through focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses”.

He called on European countries to “implement heat health action plans”, as part of a push to safeguard health in the face of climate change.