Maud Bregeon announced on Tuesday that the heat has begun to take its toll on the Fifth Republic. The Junior Energy Minister confirmed that seven people have died in France due to a heatwave that has become the hottest day in May recorded in French history. In Buttes Chaumont park, workers were seen spraying fine mists of water on passersby as temperatures hit a blistering 35 degrees Celsius.

The record temperatures have turned the French spring into a summer of survival. According to the national weather service, the heat is part of a larger trend that is melting the traditional European calendar. While the elite retreat to climate-controlled villas in Cannes, the public is left to dodge the sun in the parks of Paris. The heat follows a global trend that saw 2025 confirmed as the hottest year on record, a milestone that is now being felt in the streets of Paris.