Seven people have died in connection with the severe heatwave sweeping across France, government officials confirmed on Tuesday, with five of the deaths linked to drowning incidents.
The French government said on Tuesday that seven people were reported to have died in connection with the recent heatwave baking much of western Europe, five of whom drowned.
"What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths directly or indirectly related to the heat," government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told television broadcaster TF1.
Bregeon added that the figures and specific causes of death would need "to be clarified once the episode we are currently experiencing has come to an end".
The heatwave that has already seen record-breaking temperatures across the country was expected to intensify on Tuesday, with eight departments in western France placed on orange heat alert -- a first for the month of May.
