In the wake of the ongoing heat wave, with record-high temperatures in large parts of Europe, the number of drowning incidents in the country has skyrocketed.
On Saturday evening, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 74 people had died in drowning-related incidents - most often in places where swimming was prohibited or unsupervised. Drownings in private pools have also occurred, according to Nunez.
On Friday, an 18-month-old child was found dead in an overheated car in a parking lot in Marseille. Three other similar deaths involving young children have occurred.
The heat in France has moved eastward and on Saturday it was mainly in the eastern parts of the country that red heat warnings were issued.
It is still extremely hot across Europe. In Germany, it was 41.5 degrees in the town of Möckern-Drewitz, the highest temperature ever recorded in the country. In the Czech Republic, it was also 40.8 degrees in Doksany, north of Prague.
In Switzerland, the June heat record was broken for the third day in a row when the temperature rose to 39 degrees in the country's northern city of Basel.
