Funeral directors in France are struggling with an unprecedented number of death requests as a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures soaring to 44°C, has overwhelmed mortuaries across the country. Since the heatwave began, phones have been ringing every few minutes with requests to collect bodies, leaving funeral homes at maximum capacity.
Zouhaeir Hertelli, a Paris funeral director, reported that all 32 places in his cold room are occupied, forcing him to repeatedly decline new requests. "We're facing a really catastrophic situation. I'm getting hundreds of calls," he said. The heatwave, which started in mid-June, has shifted eastward to other parts of Europe, but France is now counting the human cost.
Surge in Deaths
Public Health France reported approximately 1,200 deaths on the hottest day ever recorded in the country, breaking a record set the previous day. Deaths surged to over 1,400 on the following Thursday and another 1,400 on Friday. In comparison, the pre-heatwave death rate in April and May was around 900 to 1,000 per day. The agency cautioned that these figures are preliminary, as many death certificates for people who died at home or in care facilities are not yet recorded electronically.
Of the deaths registered during the three-day period studied, 85% involved people aged 65 and above. There was a sharp increase in deaths at home—up by about 40%—particularly in the Paris region. Funeral director Veronique Bertrand noted that most deaths she handled were of isolated individuals living alone. "Given the circumstances in which they were found, there can be no other conclusion than that these were deaths caused by the heat," she said.
Mortuary Capacity Exceeded
Hertelli and others in the funeral industry reported that Paris mortuaries quickly ran out of storage space. City Hall installed two temporary storage units with 20 places each for municipal mortuaries, and city hospitals provided an additional 50 places. Despite these measures, the situation remains dire. Bertrand expressed concern that lessons from the deadly 2003 heatwave have been forgotten. "I think people absolutely need to wake up, that solidarity needs to come back," she said, emphasizing the need to check on elderly neighbours who live alone.
The statistical and public health work of tallying heat-related deaths could take weeks or months, but it is already clear that the toll is severe. The heatwave has highlighted the vulnerability of older people living in isolation, with many found dead in their homes. As temperatures continue to rise across Europe, France faces a catastrophic strain on its funeral services.
