A strong storm has left two dead in France after a severe heatwave ravaged large areas of the country, according to local media reports citing authorities.
A 12-year-old boy died in the Tarn et Garonne department in the south after a tree fell near a waterway while he was trying to shelter with his family, as reported by BFM TV based on emergency services.
In a separate incident, an all-terrain vehicle driver was killed in a village in northwestern France after colliding with a tree that had fallen onto the road due to the storms.
The weather in several areas of the country shifted from temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius to violent thunderstorms, with wind speeds reaching 120 kilometers per hour, prompting the meteorological agency to issue warnings covering 57 departments.
Civil defense teams reported intervening in hundreds of cases, while the adverse weather temporarily disrupted electricity supply to more than 100,000 homes.
Wind speeds reached 112 kilometers per hour atop the Eiffel Tower, while rainwater inundated metro stations in the capital, Paris, causing significant traffic disruptions. A sharp temperature drop of 11 degrees Celsius was recorded in just 20 minutes.
