Deadly heatwaves force an ageing France to confront a hotter future
But this year, in a first, his Orléans funeral homes took in four bodies from overstretched firms in Paris, two hours' drive away."The Paris region was hit extremely hard, they were in crisis," he said. "And then it spread to us in Orléans, where our funeral facilities became severely overcrowded. His brother brought her a fan."The lesson of 2003: We were blind.
- ▪But this year, in a first, his Orléans funeral homes took in four bodies from overstretched firms in Paris, two hours' drive away."The Paris region was hit extremely hard, they were in crisis," he said.
- ▪"And then it spread to us in Orléans, where our funeral facilities became severely overcrowded.
- ▪His brother brought her a fan."The lesson of 2003: We were blind.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Deadly heatwaves force an ageing France to confront a hotter futureSign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inboxPublished Jul 21, 2026, 02:38 PMUpdated Jul 21, 2026, 02:38 PMSet as preferred sourceORLEANS, France, July 21 - In nearly 25 years as a funeral director, Gautier Caton has never experienced anything like France's record-breaking late-June heatwave, when he rented five refrigerated containers to store bodies arriving at up to three times the normal rate.A fifth-generation undertaker who grew up with coffins stacked in his parents' garage, Caton joined the family firm just weeks after an infamous 2003 heatwave that contributed to nearly 15,000 excess deaths across France.
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