French footballer Kenzo Kies, 21, in brain death after Rhône drowning amid extreme heatwave

The drowning

Kenzo Kies, a 21-year-old footballer with Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp, was swimming with friends in a prohibited area of the Rhône on Monday afternoon when the group was caught by strong currents. Firefighters were called to the Feyssine park between Villeurbanne and Caluire-et-Cuire, near Lyon, shortly before 18:30, as temperatures in the city reached 38 °C. Two of the four young men were rescued without medical assistance, a third was stabilised, but Kies was found in cardiorespiratory arrest after several minutes underwater. He was taken to hospital in a critical state and later declared brain dead.

The Lyon public prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the circumstances of the accident. The player had been with the club's reserve team and was under contract with Guingamp, having joined on a free transfer in 2025 after spells at FC Lyon, Olympique Lyonnais, AS Saint-Priest and AS Saint-Étienne.

Heatwave grips France

France has been under an intense heatwave since 18 June, with Météo France issuing a red alert for more than half the country. Temperatures have exceeded 40 °C in many areas, and the weather service warned that new records could be set.

“New record temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year.”

The episode is being compared to the August 2003 heatwave, which caused around 15,000 excess deaths.

Government warnings

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday that around 40 people had drowned in France since 18 June, calling the toll a "scourge". Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari separately reported about 20 drowning deaths over the weekend alone and urged the public to respect safety rules.

“I am here this morning to remind everyone of the safety rules to follow. It is not a small thing, especially during heatwaves like this, to go swimming in unsupervised areas. We understand, we need to cool off, we want to get in the water, but we absolutely must respect supervised areas.”

Kenzo Kies's career

Kies came through the youth systems of several Lyon-area clubs before signing for Guingamp in 2025. He was part of the club's B team in the French fifth tier. His identity was initially withheld by authorities, but French media later named him as the victim.