As of 05:00 local time, La Rochelle in the southwest had already recorded a temperature of 29C, the forecaster said.
Highs of 39 to 40C are forecast across much of the country’s west, from Paris to Brittany, and are expected to remain the same until the weekend.
In Bordeaux, it is possible that the city’s all-time record temperature could be broken for a third day running. The previous record was 41.6C on 11 August 2025. But on Monday it reached 41.8C, while on Tuesday it was 42.1C.
Some relief from the heat is expected from Friday, with temperatures forecast to gradually drop over the weekend. This change will come with thunderstorms, bringing a risk of flash flooding and large hail.
Speaking to French radio, labour minister Jean-Pierre Farandou said “we’re in the process of finding out we’ve become a hot country” and warned society may need to adapt.
Authorities warn that the risk of forest fires is higher during such a prolonged and intense heatwave.
In the Maine-et-Loire region, more than 150 firefighters were deployed to fight a major fire on Tuesday in the Breignon forest in Saint-Macaire-du-Bois. It was brought under control overnight, authorities said, with no-one reported injured.
Sights in the French capital Paris have also been impacted by the hot weather.
The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre, said it would close its doors earlier this week.
The Louvre said its historic building “remains fragile, external and is not sufficiently adapted to climate change”, adding that the “build-up of heat is at its highest at the end of the day, and intensified by the volume of visitors”.
The Eiffel Tower is also closing earlier than usual on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among those who died in heatwave-related drownings was a six-year-old child who had gone to an unsupervised beach with his parents in Bègles, Gironde on Tuesday evening.
A 17-year-old girl also drowned while swimming in a prohibited area of the Marne river in Champs-sur-Marne, on the outskirts of Paris.
Several drownings have also been reported in Germany, including that of a 26-year-old man who died after going into the Danube River near Regensburg in Bavaria on Tuesday evening.
Emergency services spent hours searching for the Syrian man, who could not swim, using a helicopter and boats. Attempts to resuscitate him after he was found some hours later were unsuccessful.
Temperatures are expected to reach 37C on Wednesday in Germany, and people are being warned not to underestimate the dangers of swimming.
There are also fears of drought in some regions. In Brandenburg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, authorities are urging people to use water sparingly, German newspaper Die Welt reports.
Barbecue bans have also been introduced in cities including Stuttgart and Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, local media report.
