Public Health France reported that deaths rose by 29.1% during the week beginning June 22, representing 2,025 additional deaths compared with the previous week. The agency cautioned that the figure was likely an underestimate and said the final toll could increase as more data become available.

The mortality surge was particularly pronounced in the Paris region, where deaths increased by 62% over the same period. A comparable rise was also recorded in the western Pays de la Loire region, highlighting the broad impact of the prolonged heat across the country.

The heatwave, which lasted around 11 days in June, pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of France. The extreme conditions disrupted transport services, forced the closure of schools and prompted widespread public health warnings.

According to Public Health France, the increase in mortality was concentrated overwhelmingly among people aged 45 and older. While deaths also rose among those aged between 45 and 64, the largest number of fatalities occurred among people aged 65 years and above.

The agency also reported a marked increase in deaths occurring at home, with fatalities in private residences nearly doubling within a single week. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has previously said more people died at home during the latest heatwave than in comparable periods of previous extreme weather events.

The government’s handling of the crisis has become a political issue, with Lecornu facing a possible no-confidence vote in parliament as early as Monday. Opposition lawmakers have criticized the administration, arguing that France has not adequately adapted to increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves associated with rising temperatures.

France’s experience during the June heatwave has inevitably drawn comparisons with the devastating summer of 2003, when approximately 15,000 people died during one of Europe’s deadliest heat-related disasters. Many of those victims were elderly residents of nursing homes, exposing shortcomings in emergency preparedness that prompted major reforms to the country’s heat response system.

Although this year’s June heatwave has been assessed as more intense than the 2003 event in terms of temperature, health officials believe its overall death toll is likely to remain lower.

Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said the consequences of the recent heatwave would “probably not be comparable” to those of 2003.

Nicolas Revel, director general of the Paris public hospital system, said he expected the number of heat-related deaths to remain below the 2003 disaster but likely exceed the toll from last year’s heatwave, which claimed about 5,700 lives.

The political debate intensified after members of the Green party suggested the June heatwave may ultimately have caused as many as 10,000 deaths nationwide, a claim that Lecornu strongly rejected.

France had already experienced an unusually early spell of extreme heat in May. Public health officials estimated that period resulted in at least 300 more deaths than normally expected, underscoring growing concerns over the increasing frequency and health impacts of extreme weather events.