France's death toll from heat wave may rise despite easing temperatures: Health minister

French authorities on Sunday warned that the health impacts of the country's prolonged heat wave are likely to continue despite a gradual drop in temperatures, as hospitals and emergency services remain under heavy pressure.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist urged continued vigilance, saying the country is seeing a higher-than-normal number of deaths linked to the extreme heat.

"We’re probably not in the same health situation as in 2003," Rist told BFMTV, referring to a deadly heat wave that year, but noted that preliminary data from Public Health France indicated around 1,000 more deaths than normal since Wednesday. She stressed that the figures remain provisional and said pressure on the healthcare system would continue for several days.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office also warned that although the heat wave is receding, its health consequences, including dehydration, delayed hospitalizations, and worsening conditions among vulnerable people, will persist.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said emergency services had seen a "significant increase" in heat-related interventions, with firefighters carrying out about 122,000 operations during the extreme weather. He warned that operational activity would remain exceptionally high despite cooler temperatures and called for continued caution, particularly during sporting activities.

While temperatures eased across much of France following severe thunderstorms overnight, two northeastern departments remained under the highest red heat wave alert on Sunday, while 34 others were under orange heat wave warnings and 14 under orange thunderstorm alerts.

The storms left at least seven people with minor injuries in northern France and cut electricity to around 63,000 households, according to authorities and electricity network operator Enedis.

The extreme weather also disrupted sporting events, with organizers of the French road cycling championships shortening Sunday's men's race by one lap as temperatures remained around 35C (95F) at the start.