A record-shattering heatwave in France has pushed the country’s morgue system to the point of collapse. Funeral home owner Zouhair Herteli told the Associated Press that all 32 of his available refrigeration spots are full, and he is continually turning away grieving families searching for space. Bodies are being transported up to 80 kilometers outside Paris just to find available cold storage.
The numbers are staggering. Before the heat wave, France recorded 900 to 1,000 deaths per day — a normal baseline. On Wednesday, the hottest day in the country’s recorded history, that figure surged past 1,200. By Thursday and Friday, daily deaths exceeded 1,400. Public health authorities estimate that at least 1,000 additional victims were added over the weekend alone. An overwhelming 85% of the dead are elderly people over 65.
The crisis carries echoes of France’s devastating 2003 heatwave, which killed nearly 15,000 people and prompted a national reckoning over the care of the elderly. Two decades on, the question of whether enough was done to protect vulnerable populations is being asked again with grim urgency.
