The nature of these dead, their date and the identity of the victims remain unknown. In Spain and Italy, these same tragedies have affected agricultural employees and people working in warehouses.
Le Monde with AFP
Two additional cases of fatal accidents which could be linked to the heat wave episodes occurred during the summer were identified by the French health authorities. According to information from the Directorate General of Labor notified to Public Health France, “a [case was] observed during the heat wave of July, and a during this new heat wave”, at the beginning of August, announced the ‘Public health agency in its latest assessment published Wednesday August 17.
These two deaths are added to the other cases mentioned in previous balance sheets, which brings the total to six dead at work perhaps linked to the heat wave, the health authority said at the France-Presse agency. Public Health France did not give more details on the nature of these deaths, their precise date or the identity of the victims.
In other European countries, marked like France by multiple heat wave episodes, during which many temperature records were broken, workers died due to exposure to very high temperatures. These deaths, which took place in Spain or Italy, have, for example, struck agricultural employees or people working in warehouses.
Furthermore, and in a more general way, Public Health France gave a first estimate of excess mortality in July in France, estimating it at 20 %. However, this figure does not distinguish deaths specifically linked to heat waves, especially since the month of July was also marked by an epidemic wave of COVID-19. The authorities intend to give a more specific assessment in September.
In 2021, the year in which the summer was marked by its freshness compared to previous years, no case of mortality linked to heat has been dressed in the French health authorities, according to The France Public Health assessment.