France struggles through its most lethal heatwave in years

France is facing one of its most dangerous heatwaves in years, with more than half the country now under the highest level weather alert and temperatures expected to climb above 40 degrees Celsius in a number of regions.

Even one of the world's most famous landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, has had to close due to extreme heat… a visible sign of how far the heat-related crisis has reached.

On Tuesday, the state weather agency put some 54 of France's 96 domestic departments on red heatwave alert, which is the most serious warning on its scale. Dozens more departments are under orange alert, with warnings stretching across most of the country as forecasters warn of exceptionally hot days and nights.

The heatwave is not just uncomfortable, but deadly. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu says 40 people have drowned since June 18, many of them quite young, who died in unsupervised waterways. This has sparked an urgent warning from authorities, who say a quick dip can turn deadly in seconds.

Other deaths have also been linked to these extreme temperatures. Two young children, aged just two and four, were found unconscious in a hot car in south-eastern France and could not be resuscitated. In the Bordeaux region, officials say three elderly people also died from health problems caused by the extreme heat.

The weather-related disruption is being felt across daily life as well. More than 1,300 schools were closed on Monday, with thousands more changing their timetables to avoid the blistering afternoon heat. Some train services have also been affected, while local authorities are opening cooling spaces and urging people to check in on elderly relatives and neighbors.

Forecasters say this heatwave is different to other years – not only because of the temperatures, but because of how early and widespread it is. Parts of western France could see highs of 42 or 43 degrees Celsius over the coming days, while overnight temperatures are staying so high that there is little time for people to sleep and recover.

On Tuesday, the government convened a crisis meeting as officials tried to work out how to manage the heatwave, with Lecornu warning that records are being broken "every day and every night", describing the number of heat-related drownings as a "sad scourge".

France still has the memory of the devastating heatwave back in 2003, which killed almost 15,000 people, most of them elderly. Since then, the country has improved its warning systems – but this latest crisis is a reminder that when extreme heat arrives suddenly and sticks around for days, it puts almost every part of daily life under strain.