France has seen 301 drownings since June 19, a government minister has said, linking the sharp rise in deaths from last year to a series of prolonged heat waves.

Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari told France Inter radio the number of deaths – a 14 per cent hike on 2025 – was a “tragic toll”.

France, Spain and Italy have all been hit by heat waves that have triggered massive wildfires that have scorched thousands of hectares of land this summer.

Ferrari said people had been taking risks by going into the water, adding: “Many deadly accidents have occurred in areas that are not authorised or supervised for swimming.”

She said a number of the drownings were recorded in “open water, in canals for example”.

Ferrari said the government was working with regional authorities “to improve swimming areas and make things safer.”

Speaking on Friday, she added that “many drownings, particularly among the elderly, occurred in individual pools.”

The minister said that sudden immersion in cold water on a hot day could cause shock, and that in some cases “people can also exceed their physical capabilities.”

In June, Ferrari warned that too many people were trying to cool off in rivers and canals without necessarily taking the risks into account.

Climate change is driving up global average temperatures, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.

A heatwave in June saw a nuclear power plant in south-west France temporarily shut down because water temperatures in the River Garonne topped 28C. Under French laws, water used to cool the reactors at the Golfech plant must not exceed that temperature.

Some monuments like the Eiffel Tower also decided to close early because of the high temperatures in Paris during the heatwave. –BBC