France records 1,000 excess deaths since June 24 as heatwave eases but death toll expected to rise further
Santé publique France reports around 1,000 excess deaths since June 24, with hospitals under strain and hundreds of bodies awaiting collection. Officials warn the toll is likely an underestimate and could climb in coming days.
France’s record-breaking heatwave is receding, but its human cost is only beginning to become clear. Santé publique France (SPF) announced on Sunday that about 1,000 more deaths than normal were recorded between June 24 and 26, the peak of an 11-day episode of extreme temperatures.
The raw numbers
SPF data show 1,200 all-cause deaths on 24 June, and over 1,400 on each of 25 and 26 June, against a baseline of 900 to 1,000 daily deaths in April and May. The increase was more marked in regions that spent the final days under red alert, including Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Normandie and Pays de la Loire.
- Apr-May avg
- 950 deaths
- 2026-06-24
- 1200 deaths
- 2026-06-25
- 1400 deaths
- 2026-06-26
- 1400 deaths
Mostly elderly, but all ages affected
Eighty-five percent of the dead are aged 65 or older; deaths at home rose by 40 percent, especially in the Paris region.
The emergency physician at hôpital Lariboisière added that the heat also hits the poor, the chronically ill and the obese.We are afraid of a hecatomb on Monday. If this weekend these people were not checked on by their families, a neighbour or a home help, we fear a massacre.
Tomorrow morning Monday, home helps, people who look after elderly people at home are going to come back to work, as well as families, and we are going to open the doors and we are probably going to discover people who are either in very, very bad shape at home, who haven’t drunk for three days, who have been in the heat, or who have died.
Hospitals and funeral services overwhelmed
Emergency departments in Paris saw “exceptionally elevated” activity, and funeral homes in the capital reported a 15 percent surge in calls. Funerariums are saturated, with bodies being transferred to neighbouring towns.
The head of the emergency department at Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou said the entire system was “overwhelmed.”Normally, our teams arrive one to two hours after the family calls. Today we are looking at four, five, six hours at best.
Data gaps mean the real toll is higher
SPF cautions that the figures come from electronic death certificates that cover only about 60 percent of national mortality, 25 percent of home deaths and 45 percent in care homes. The count is therefore “an underestimate.” Health Minister Stéphanie Rist stated the final number would be “nowhere near” the 15,000 excess deaths of the 2003 heatwave, but acknowledged it is “above normal.” The full tally will take weeks to assemble.
Beyond the heatwave
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported at least 74 drownings since 18 June as people sought relief in water. Events were cancelled over the weekend to avoid further straining hospitals. In Spain, researchers attributed more than 210 deaths to the same heatwave between 21 and 24 June. With temperatures now falling, the danger shifts from acute heat to the slow discovery of its victims, particularly the elderly and poor living in poorly insulated apartments.
