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By Open Chronicle News Desk with Agencies
PARIS — France remained under the grip of an exceptional heatwave on Friday, with two-thirds of the country still under the highest red-level heat alert, although meteorologists say temperatures are expected to gradually ease over the coming days.
A total of 61 departments remained on maximum alert as the country began to move past the peak of the heatwave, which struck on Thursday. According to Météo-France, 11 departments are expected to downgrade to orange alert on Friday evening, while another 13 will follow on Saturday morning as cooler Atlantic air advances eastward.
“The hottest air mass is gradually shifting toward eastern France, while cooler air is beginning to move in from the west and northwest,” the National Weather Service said.
Rising human toll
Authorities are increasingly concerned about the public health impact of the prolonged heat.
Sports Minister Marina Ferrari announced that 55 people have died in drowning incidents since the beginning of the heatwave, warning that the death toll could continue to rise.
According to the government, approximately 65 percent of the drownings occurred at unsupervised or unauthorized swimming locations, prompting renewed appeals for people to use monitored beaches and bathing areas.
The extreme temperatures have affected much of Europe. In Spain, health authorities have attributed at least 212 deaths to the heatwave between Sunday and Wednesday, more than double the number recorded during the same period in 2025.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire also reported an increase in mortality in the French capital after temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday for only the fourth time in 150 years of weather observations.
Infrastructure and economy under strain
The intense heat is also placing growing pressure on infrastructure across France.
Electricity distributor Enedis reported that around 50,000 households were without power on Friday, including tens of thousands in the Yvelines department, as emergency repair teams worked to restore service.
Businesses have also been forced to adapt. French cookware manufacturer Le Creuset suspended production at its factory in the Aisne department from Wednesday afternoon until Monday because of the extreme working conditions inside the facility.
Hospitals under pressure
Authorities warned that hospitals in several regions are operating under severe strain as emergency admissions increase.
Paris police said some public events scheduled for the weekend, including the city’s Pride march, could still be canceled if health conditions worsen.
Meanwhile, more than 850,000 middle school students sat their national brevet examinations on Friday. Although some oral baccalaureate examinations were postponed because of the historic heatwave, education authorities confirmed the written exams would proceed as planned, with water distribution and cooling breaks available throughout the tests.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said students would be allowed to cool off whenever necessary during examinations.
Climate change in focus
President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that France has invested heavily in combating climate change, but said the country is facing weather conditions with no historical precedent.
“This is a peak that has never had an equivalent in our history,” Macron said.
The heatwave extends well beyond France, with an estimated 101 million Europeans experiencing temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Switzerland and the United Kingdom both recorded their hottest June temperatures on record, while London’s ambulance service reported its busiest day ever for life-threatening emergencies during the heatwave.
Climate experts continue to warn that such extreme weather events are becoming more frequent because of global warming driven primarily by fossil fuel emissions.
Jim Skea, chair of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the recent events demonstrate what Europe should expect more often in the future.
“We will inevitably experience more episodes like those we have seen over the past few days,” he warned, adding that warming in some regions and oceans is already exceeding previous scientific projections.