Some 3,000 people have died as a result of two weeks of record-breaking hot weather, the French ministry of health announced yesterday.
The figure was shocking, the Health Minister, Dr Jean-Francois Mattei, admitted on French radio.
"Henceforward we consider what is happening to be a real epidemic, with all that means in terms of numbers of victims."
A statement said the 3,000 figure represented "the number of deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat".
Because the first estimate released by the government includes only those who have died in hospital, it is believed to be below the real number.
The vast majority are elderly people, many of whom die in their homes and are discovered later. The police officers' union has asked the government to deploy the army to help recover the dead.
In response, the Prime Minister, Mr Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who cut short his holiday to handle the crisis, has activated the government's "Plan Blanc" for hospitals in the Île-de-France region around Paris. The emergency plan is meant to deal with natural disasters, epidemics and chemical, biological or nuclear attacks. The plan was later extended to the entire country.
Under the plan enacted yesterday, the health ministry has set up a crisis cell to co-ordinate with ambulance and emergency room services. All medical personnel have been called back from holidays, and non-urgent care has been cancelled. A psychological unit is to assist patients and their families, and the property of heatwave victims is to be protected.
The Red Cross has sent 150 volunteers to help in hospitals and retirement homes, and the French army has put its hospitals and transport facilities at the disposition of health officials.
The health ministry's communique said: "An epidemic of deaths associated with the heat" began on August 7th.
On August 12th, 180 people died in the Paris region alone. Although temperatures have fallen from 40 degrees to around 31 degrees in Paris, hospitals and funeral homes are still overflowing. Doctors say the mortality rate will not reach normal levels for some days.
Doctors' unions are blaming the government for shutting down 30 per cent of hospital beds during the holiday season.
The estimate of 3,000 is partly based on statistics provided by the Pompes Funèbres Générales (PFG), the French funeral directors who conduct a quarter of all burials. The PFG reported a 37 per cent increase in deaths between August 6th and August 12th compared to 2002.
Death toll figures from the heatwave are far lower in countries neighbouring France. It is not clear if this is due to different ways of registering the cause of death.