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About 3,000 Die of Heat-Related Causes in France

Thursday, August 14, 2003

PARIS — About 3,000 people have died in France (search) of heat-related causes since abnormally high temperatures swept across the country about two weeks ago, the health ministry estimated Thursday.

"The number of deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat ... can be estimated at around 3,000 for the whole of France," the ministry said in a statement.

It was the government's first official death toll estimate. One of the few organizations to issue an estimate, France's emergency hospital physicians' association, had earlier this week said the death toll was at least 100.

Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei (search) said the blistering heat wave has caused a "veritable epidemic" of death in France.

Morgues and funeral directors have reported skyrocketing demand for their services since the heat wave took hold. General Funeral Services, France's largest undertaker, said it handled some 3,230 deaths from Aug. 4-10, compared to 2,300 on an average week in the year -- a 37-percent jump.

Many people died in their apartments. One police officers' union in Paris called on the government to deploy the army to help retrieve bodies.

The ministry said its estimate was partly drawn from studying deaths in 23 Paris region hospitals from July 25-Aug. 12 and from information provided by General Funeral Services.

On Wednesday, days after the first complaints accusing the government of a slow response to heat-related deaths, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin (search) asked the Paris region to launch an emergency hospital plan to provide for a massive influx of patients.

Mattei also acknowledged "difficulties" for the government in managing the surge in temperatures, but said that hospital staffers were performing in an "exemplary" manner in response.

The government "carried out the responses that were needed" as soon as the first cases of heat-related death appeared about a week ago, Mattei said.

"We didn't just remain inactive," he said.

Paris City Hall said Wednesday it had taken extra measures to ensure that city-run funeral homes would remain open to bury bodies on Friday, a holiday in France, and recall more than 30 municipal workers from vacation.

To protect the elderly, the city's 13 retirement homes bought extra fans and atomizers to keep their residents cool in a country where air conditioning is not widespread.

Record-high temperatures have been set in numerous cities across France, and the capital has baked under heat exceeding 98 degrees. The average August temperature in Paris, which has warm but not torrid summers, is 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

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