In France, 274 people, including 37 children and adolescents, lost their lives by drowning in two and a half months, the vast majority during heatwave periods, a “moderate” increase in figures compared to last year, already marked by a significant number of deaths, the health authorities announced on Friday July 24.
Over the same period, 241 people died by drowning in the territory in 2025, recalls Public Health France (SpF), which considers the increase “statistically insignificant”, and approximately four out of five fatal drownings (79%) took place during “heatwave vigilance” days, between May 1 and July 15. In total, 925 drownings took place in France, seven out of ten of which were not fatal – but could be followed by serious after-effects – which marks an increase of 14% compared to last year.
While drownings followed by deaths concerned 37 children and adolescents, i.e. “the same number as in 2025 over the same period”, the increase in the total number of drownings – fatal or not – observed “mainly concerned adults”.
A monitoring period started a month earlier than in 2025
The three periods of “heatwave vigilance” proved to be particularly deadly: 48 deaths occurred during the first, from May 24 to 31, then 234 people died by drowning from June 16 to July 3, during the second when the heat was particularly intense and affected almost the entire territory, and finally 65 deaths were recorded from July 4 to 15. This year the monitoring period started on May 1, a month earlier than last year, and will last until September 30.
At the national level, compared to 2025, the number of drownings followed by deaths in swimming pools and artificial swimming areas has doubled, going from 31 to 60, concerning the “vast majority of adults” “looking for freshness”, and who have sometimes “overestimated their capacity” or “suffering from chronic pathologies which can lead to discomfort”.
At the regional level, compared to last year, the number of drownings followed by deaths at the place of drowning, often “in a natural environment in undeveloped places and prohibited for swimming”, jumped by 48%, from 70 to 102, in “inland regions without a sea front”, in particular Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Île-de-France. In Île-de-France, the number of fatal drownings jumped from 14 in 2025 to 35 in 2026, and was multiplied by three, from 5 to 15 in the department of Seine-et-Marne alone.
