France's June heat record echoes 2003's deadliest pattern

Tarascon recorded a nighttime low of 26.8°C on June 19—a record. Elevated nocturnal temperatures prevent the body from cooling during sleep, the mechanism that drove excess mortality during the 2003 heatwave, which killed approximately 15,000 people, mostly elderly. Seven heat deaths already recorded by late May. France's rebuilt emergency systems face a test as two major heatwaves hit within three weeks.