In declarations to the press, Guillaume Boulanger, researcher of the official entity, explained that in the summer period of 2023, three out of every 100 deaths were credited to heat.

Caroline Semaille, General Director of Public Health in France, pointed out that although the deaths struck various age groups, those over 75 years were the most affected, with around 3,700 dead.

At least four heat waves, some of them late, were recorded last year on French soil, with one of the most deadly phenomena of its kind in recent times, only surpassed by those suffered in 2022 (7,000 deaths) and 2003 (15,000).

According to experts, during the Paris Olympic Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, the country could face even more severe heat episodes than those of 2023.

Climate change is responsible for the rise of extreme events on the planet, with forecasts that they will escalate even more, hence the calls from the UN and the scientific community to reduce emissions of polluting gases into the atmosphere.

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