Seven deaths in France linked to record high temperatures

Five of the deaths were by drowning while two people died competing in sporting events

The French government has said seven people have died in an extreme early-summer heat event hitting a swathe of western Europe, as France and the UK set record highs for May, and with temperatures forecast to rise further on Tuesday.

“What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat,” the government spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, told French television TF1, adding that five of the deaths were by drowning.