France records 55 deaths during extreme heatwave

France’s state emergency medical service recorded more than 50 deaths in Paris on June 25, one of the hottest days ever recorded in the country.

A total of 55 deaths were registered in the French capital over the past 24 hours, compared with the usual daily average of around 10, Caliber.Az reports, citing the BFMTV.

Of those, 25 people died from heart attacks, while 30 died from other causes.

BFMTV noted that not all of the deaths were directly caused by the extreme heat, but said the sharp increase in mortality reflects the impact of the weather conditions. The broadcaster added that the figures cover only cases handled by the SAMU emergency medical service and do not include data from the fire and rescue service, private physicians, or SOS Médecins, France’s largest federation of emergency medical associations.

On Thursday, Jean-François Cibien, vice president of the Samu-Urgences de France union, told BFMTV that a hospital had confirmed the country's first patient death linked to high temperatures inside a hospital ward. He did not specify where or when the incident occurred, but said French hospitals face a serious shortage of air conditioning.

Paris Police Prefect Patrice Faure acknowledged that hospitals in the capital are under severe strain as emergency calls surge during the heatwave. He said the fire and rescue service alone recorded twice the usual number of emergency calls and responded to more than 2,500 incidents on Thursday.

In response, Faure ordered a ban on alcohol sales from Friday evening until Saturday morning, as well as a prohibition on drinking alcohol in public places during that period. He also said cultural events scheduled for the weekend could be cancelled if conditions worsen.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov