After a heatwave of exceptional intensity that left nearly 1,000 more deaths than normal across France, hospitals are scrambling to adapt before another spell of extreme heat arrives from the middle of next week. The crisis has exposed deep vulnerabilities in the country's healthcare infrastructure, prompting urgent but controversial government action.
During the previous episode, healthcare facilities came under severe strain, dealing with a major surge in admissions and a shortage of equipment suited to extreme temperatures. Staff worked around the clock to improvise solutions.
"This week has been awful for everyone working in hospitals. Not only for nurses and doctors, but for all hospital staff who were mobilised 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because we had to find new solutions in a very short time. We thought we were ready, but in reality we were not," testifies Cédric Lussiez, director of the Paris Saclay hospital in Orsay.
Lessons from the Crisis
The hospital director explains that the crisis revealed several weaknesses in how healthcare facilities are organised, and says important lessons have been learned. "The first, of course, is that buildings need to be adapted. So we started by installing air conditioning. We have also changed the way we store some of our medicines, keeping them in areas maintained at low temperatures. We have reorganised certain departments that are particularly exposed to these very high temperatures. For example, from today we are moving the geriatric ward to this new hospital."
Faced with the emergency, medical teams also repurposed equipment from its usual use. Shower trolleys, normally used to wash people with physical disabilities, were requisitioned to treat cases of severe hyperthermia.
"We brought some back for the heatwave, as well as bathtubs, which we brought in for the SMUR (mobile emergency and intensive care unit). We fill them with ice cubes and then place the patient with hyperthermia inside," explains deputy hospital director Emmeline Joly.
The situation in France mirrors broader challenges across the continent. As Germany scrambles to adapt after a 41.7°C heatwave exposed infrastructure gaps, and the heatwave moves east, killing over 1,300 in the Balkans and Ukraine, the need for systemic change is becoming undeniable.
Government Response and Criticism
Sébastien Lecornu has announced a €100 million investment from this summer, earmarked for healthcare facilities most exposed to heat. The French prime minister has also promised 30,000 air conditioners, with the first deliveries due at the beginning of next week. However, these announcements are being criticised as insufficient and too late by the Green party, which is planning to table a motion of no confidence against the government.
The debate over air conditioning is particularly charged. Europe's heatwave has exposed a class divide over air conditioning, with wealthier institutions and households able to afford cooling while public hospitals and low-income communities suffer. The EU has so far refused to take sides in the air conditioning debate, even as the death toll climbs.
As France braces for another heatwave, the question remains whether the promised measures will arrive in time. With the first air conditioners due next week, hospitals are in a race against the mercury. The coming days will test whether the lessons of the past weeks have been learned quickly enough.
