Two more children have died in France in the country’s record-breaking heatwave, bringing the number of toddlers killed in hot cars to three in the space of a week. The latest victims were an 18-month-old baby, found unconscious in a car park at the university medical campus in Marseille on Tuesday, and a three-year-old boy who became trapped in his family’s car in Paris while his father worked in the garden shed. The older child’s mother was hospitalised in a state of shock after discovering her son, the public prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said.
The Marseille tragedy occurred when a parent is believed to have forgotten the toddler in the vehicle on the way to work at the campus, according to BFM Marseille Provence. The child was rushed to La Timone Hospital suffering from hyperthermia but later died. The incident came as much of France endured temperatures of between 32C and 38C, with Wednesday registering as the hottest day ever recorded in the country. The national weather agency Météo-France reported a high of 43.8C in Palluau, in the Vendée department, surpassing the previous record.
“Three toddlers die in hot cars in France during record-breaking heatwave as temperatures hit 43.8C.”
In Paris, the three-year-old slipped into an unlocked family car after his father told him to have a nap. Once inside, the child safety system activated, trapping him. “He apparently shut himself in and became trapped in the vehicle before being found unconscious by his parents,” Le Bras told French media. The boy’s mother had been napping with the couple’s 18-month-old other child at the time. The deaths follow the deaths on Monday of two children aged two and four who were found in cardiac arrest inside their mother’s car in a residential car park.
The French capital experienced its own record on Wednesday, with temperatures reaching 40.9C – the first time in 150 years that Paris has surpassed 40C. The city’s mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, urged Parisians to slow down as the deadly heatwave disrupted power supplies and shut schools and cultural landmarks. Prime minister Sebastien Lecornu activated the highest level of health services mobilisation, meaning non-urgent operations may be cancelled to focus on heat-related emergencies.
Authorities have warned that the extreme weather is not over. Minister for ecological transition Monique Barbut told FranceInter: “There is a strong probability that, starting the week after [some point after July 6], we will return to extreme heat… until July 14.” France first implemented measures against heatwaves after the 2003 disaster, which caused nearly 15,000 excess deaths, with the elderly worst hit. This time, ministers said younger people were a particular concern. “The profile of people currently facing health risks is not necessarily what one might expect — that is, the most vulnerable, because they are closely monitored and well informed,” Gregoire said.