Necva Tastan Sevinc
27 June 2026•Update: 27 June 2026
Paris emergency medical services recorded 109 deaths within 24 hours on Friday as France's prolonged heat wave continued to strain the country's healthcare system, local media reported on Saturday.
The deaths occurred during interventions by the emergency medical service at patients' homes and in public places, compared with an average of seven deaths during the same period of the year, Franceinfo reported.
The figures did not include deaths linked to extreme heat in hospitals.
The emergency medical service also recorded around 3,400 emergency calls, 30 cardiac arrests, and treated one patient suffering from hyperthermia with a body temperature of 43.7C (110.7F), Franceinfo said.
Separately, a man drowned in Paris' Saint-Martin Canal on Friday after swimming outside the supervised area and designated hours, according to city authorities.
The same day, French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said that 55 drownings had been recorded nationwide since the start of the heat wave, with 65% occurring in unsupervised or unauthorized swimming areas.
The four emergency medical services covering Paris and the neighboring departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne recorded an 80% increase in calls over the past week, while emergency room visits rose 36% compared with a normal day and 8% from the previous day, according to Paris public hospitals.
Although temperatures have started to ease, the heat wave continues to put pressure on health services.
France's national weather agency, Meteo-France, maintained red heat wave alerts for 35 departments on Saturday, while 34 departments were under orange thunderstorm warnings. The remaining highest-level alerts are expected to be lifted by Sunday evening.
