France has seen about 1,000 excess deaths since Wednesday as a severe heatwave intensified across Europe. The additional deaths were recorded from June 24 and were measured against mortality levels in previous months.
The World Health Organization said the continent had logged more than 1,300 excess deaths since June 21. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post on Sunday that “European homes, workplaces, and schools were not built for these temperatures.”
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🥵 Nearly 1,000 people have already died from the heat in France
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 28, 2026
That estimate comes from France's public health agency, Santé publique France. Elderly people aged 65+ have been hit the hardest, with many dying at home.
After 11 days of temperatures above 40C, the heat has… pic.twitter.com/XNfnkyjZuz
France's hardest-hit regions
The hardest-hit areas included regions that were under red heat alerts, notably Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Brittany, Centre-Val de Loire, Normandy, and Pays de la Loire.
Public Health France added that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 or older, underscoring the strain the heat placed on older residents. Temperatures in parts of France topped 40C this week, increasing pressure on hospitals and first responders as emergency calls surged.
🇪🇺🇫🇷 Europe discovers summer is hot, again
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 27, 2026
It's been brutal out there this week, over 40C in a bunch of countries, with France hitting its hottest day on record two days in a row and Spain, the UK and Switzerland all breaking their June highs.
And scientists aren't mincing… pic.twitter.com/VuyKeVQGOM
Paris responds to the crisis
The heatwave has also prompted disruptive measures in Paris. Authorities banned drinking alcohol in public over the weekend to ease pressure on emergency services, while the city postponed its Pride March and saw early closures at the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum.
Officials also warned about unsafe swimming after a man drowned in the Canal Saint-Martin on Friday night. Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire wrote on X, “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: swimming outside the times when supervised swimming is permitted and outside the supervised areas is dangerous.”
No corner spared by the blaze
Beyond France, the extreme temperatures have spread widely across Europe.
The United Kingdom recorded its hottest June day on record on Friday. The provisional Met Office figures showed 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk. Spain and Germany also saw temperatures rise above 40C, and Spain’s Daily Mortality Monitoring System said more than 400 deaths may have been linked to temperature between Wednesday and Saturday, with 174 excess deaths recorded in the same period.
The broader episode has intensified concerns about the impact of record heat on public health systems across the continent.
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FAQs
Q1: Why did France record around 1,000 excess deaths during the heatwave?
Ans: French health authorities said the extreme heat led to around 1,000 excess deaths, with most victims aged 65 and above.
Q2: Which European countries were affected by the June 2026 heatwave?
Ans: France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom were among the countries hit by record temperatures during the late June 2026 heatwave.
