France records about 7,000 excess deaths by end of July
Health minister reports roughly 7,000 additional deaths during this summer’s record heat; wildfires and economic damage also mounting.
France's health minister, Stéphanie Rist, said on Friday that roughly 7,000 excess deaths had been recorded by the end of July during the intense heatwaves that struck the country this summer. She added that final, consolidated figures will be released in the coming weeks.
The French health agency had earlier estimated 5,764 excess deaths in the period from 17 June to 2 July. That preliminary tally covered the first intense phase of the heat that hit large parts of the country.
The summer was the hottest in France's history and triggered widespread wildfires. Heatwaves damaged crops in one of Europe's leading agricultural producers and disrupted the tourist season in many affected regions.
“Over the weekend, extreme temperatures in the south‑west of the country will reach 40 degrees Celsius,” said Mathieu Sorel, a climatologist at the French meteorological service Météo‑France.
Damage, evacuations and economic estimates
Dry conditions and fires have burned more than 96,000 hectares of vegetation so far — more than two and a half times the area scorched during the whole of 2025. Fires forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, destroyed hundreds of buildings and hurt the summer travel season.
Monique Barbu, the minister of ecology, warned that the heatwaves could cost France more than 15 billion euros (17.3 billion dollars). The insurance association France Assureurs estimates that insured losses tied to the wildfires in Gironde, Landes and Var since 21 July amount to about 500 million euros.
Belgium has also reported some 3,000 excess deaths linked to the same heatwave episodes. Authorities in France said they expect the final mortality accounting to be completed and published in the weeks ahead.
Photo: press material from the event
