France endured a rise of nearly 30 percent in the number of deaths recorded during the week starting June 22, the peak of a record-breaking heatwave that battered the country, the public health authority said on Friday.

That came as Belgium recorded 39 percent more deaths than normal between June 18 and 29, health authorities said.

Belgium saw 1,222 excess deaths during the period, of which nearly half were of people aged 85 or over, according to provisional data from the federal health ministry.

French officials expect the death tally in their country to rise further.

The government of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces a no-confidence vote in parliament, possibly on Monday, over its handling of June's heatwave, when temperatures climbed above 40 degrees Celsius in many places. The extreme heat disrupted daily life, forcing schools to close and trains to be cancelled.

On Friday, Public Health France said there had been "an increase of 29.1 percent, corresponding to 2,025 additional deaths compared with the previous week" while noting that the figure was probably "an underestimate".

The increase in deaths is concentrated almost entirely among people aged 45 and over.

"Although we are seeing a clear rise among 45-64-year-olds, people aged 65 and over account for the largest share of deaths," Public Health France said.

The increase is particularly noticeable in deaths at home, which nearly doubled within a single week.

Lecornu has said more people died in their homes during the latest heatwave than in previous episodes.

Some politicians have said France has failed to put in place measures to deal with rising temperatures.

Around 15,000 people died in France during a severe heatwave in 2003, with many elderly dying in nursing homes.

The June heatwave is considered more intense, but authorities say its consequences have been less severe.

"It will probably not be comparable," Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Friday.

Nicolas Revel, director general of the Paris public hospital system, has said he expects the death toll from the June heatwave to be lower than that of 2003, but "probably" higher than an episode last year that claimed 5,700 lives.

France also experienced an unusually early heatwave in May, with health officials saying there were at least 300 more deaths than expected during that period. (AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden