France’s Minister of Culture Rachida Dati has reignited debate over Paris’s vulnerability to extreme heat, calling the French capital “the deadliest European city during heatwaves.”
Her remark, made in a heated exchange on X with Green mayoral candidate David Belliard, has drawn renewed attention to scientific findings on heat-related mortality across Europe.
Dati criticized the Paris City Council under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, accusing it of failing to protect residents despite adopting multiple climate action plans.
Belliard, meanwhile, turned the spotlight on the national government, accusing it of not doing enough to combat climate change.
While Dati’s statement was politically charged, her claim is supported—at least in part—by research. A 2023 study published in The Lancet, titled Excess mortality attributed to heat and cold, analyzed data from 854 European cities between 2000 and 2019.
It found that Paris recorded the highest excess mortality among European capitals during heatwaves.
The infamous 2003 heatwave remains one of the deadliest climate events in modern European history. With temperatures soaring above 40°C, Paris saw thousands of excess deaths, underscoring the city’s particular vulnerability.
However, experts note that other major cities outside of capital status—such as Milan and Barcelona—have also recorded higher heat-related excess deaths than Paris in certain studies.
Researchers attribute this vulnerability to the “urban heat island” effect. Cities like Paris, Milan, and Barcelona absorb and retain far more heat than surrounding rural areas, due to dense concrete, asphalt, and limited green spaces.
“Man-made surfaces hold heat, while greenery and water bodies mitigate it. Paris’s density and lack of shade magnify the impact,” said climate expert Malcolm Mistry, assistant professor at the London School of Tropical Diseases and co-author of the Lancet study.
Mistry emphasized that while city planning plays a role, larger forces drive the deadly impact of heatwaves. “The temperature or the heat episodes in Paris and other cities in Europe are an outcome of the weather pattern influenced by natural climate variability, and human-induced climate change,” he told Euroverify.
Regions in Southern Europe, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, are especially at risk, as the Mediterranean basin warms at an accelerated pace. France itself has faced increasingly frequent and intense summer heatwaves, often striking earlier in the season.
Dati’s comments reflect broader anxieties in France, where climate adaptation remains an urgent issue. The political sparring highlights a growing tension between urban governance, national climate policy, and the reality of global warming.
For Parisians, the debate is more than political—it is a matter of life and death. As climate change intensifies, experts warn that without significant adaptation measures, Paris and other European cities could face worsening mortality during future heatwaves.