Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Thursday placed France's health system on its highest crisis level as a heatwave continued to grip the country, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in some areas.
“The heatwave affecting our country continues unabated, and the pressure on our health system is increasing,” Lecornu said in a post on X.
He announced a nationwide mobilization, including additional hospital staff, operational adjustments to help hospitals cope with the extreme temperatures and the postponement of non-urgent procedures.
France's weather service, Météo France, issued its highest red alert level for 72 regions on Thursday, starting at midday, covering most of the country.
Temperatures of between 35 and 40 degrees were forecast across large areas, with severe thunderstorms expected in some regions before temperatures are expected to ease slightly from Friday.
The state-owned utility EDF shut down three nuclear reactors and reduced output at several others because high river temperatures limited the use of cooling water. The measures cut France's nuclear generation capacity by about 3.5%, the company said.
Meanwhile, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire was cited by television news outlet TV1 Info as saying that the number of heat-related deaths was rising.
He warned that the heat was affecting not only vulnerable groups but also people aged 50 to 70 who underestimated the risks.
In the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Gratien, a 3-year-old boy died on Wednesday evening after becoming trapped inside a car. Emergency services were unable to revive him, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Investigators believe the boy climbed into the family's parked car and accidentally locked himself inside. The parents, both 37, later found the child unresponsive in the vehicle.
The mother was taken to the hospital suffering from shock. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into negligent homicide.
