French funeral homes are facing a sharp increase in workload due to the abnormal heatwave sweeping the country. Morgues are struggling to cope with the influx of bodies, and relatives are forced to search for available storage space before funerals or cremations. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to the French public health agency, at least 1,000 excess deaths were recorded in the country from last Wednesday to Sunday. Experts emphasize that these figures are preliminary and the number of victims is likely to continue rising.
Zouhair Hertelli, head of a funeral home in Orly near Paris, said his facility's cold storage chambers, designed to hold 32 bodies, are completely full.
"We are at full capacity. The influx started on Wednesday, Thursday and continued throughout the weekend without a break. Over the weekend, I received about 150 calls and had to refuse 150 bodies," Hertelli reported.
According to him, the funeral home is contacted by relatives of the deceased, nursing homes, police stations, municipalities and other funeral services, but there are virtually no available spaces left.
Despite a slight drop in temperature, in most regions of France the air still warms up to about +30 degrees. The national weather service warns that the heat may intensify as early as this weekend and persist throughout the following week.
French health authorities note that most deaths are recorded among the elderly — both those living at home and those in nursing homes. Authorities urge citizens to regularly visit elderly relatives and neighbors to provide timely assistance.
Dr. Sébastien Chopin of the SOS Médecins service said he fears a new heatwave that could worsen the condition of people already weakened by high temperatures.
Meanwhile, the consequences of the heat have sparked a political conflict. Deputies of the French party "The Ecologists" plan to submit a vote of no confidence in the government to the National Assembly, accusing the authorities of insufficient preparation for extreme temperatures.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu rejected the accusations and criticized opposition claims that the heat could have killed about 10,000 people.
"Where did you get this figure of 10,000 dead, with which you have been appearing on television screens for several days? This is scandalous, this is unworthy!" the head of government said.
At the same time, preliminary data require careful interpretation and do not yet allow establishing the final number of deaths due to the heat.
In the second half of June, France was hit by one of the strongest heatwaves in recent years. In several regions, temperatures exceeded 40°C, and the maximum level of weather danger was declared in Paris and other major cities. Due to the extreme heat, schools were closed, outdoor work was restricted, medical services were reinforced, and special cooling centers were opened for the population.