PARIS (AP) — A 21-year-old French soccer player with a second-division club has died after drowning during the heat wave that has gripped France.
Kenzo Kies, who played for the Guingamp reserve team, died after being pulled from the Rhone River this week. Both Guingamp and Saint-Etienne, where Kies spent seven years in the club's academy system, paid him a tribute in statements late Wednesday.
France recorded its hottest ever day for the second day running on Wednesday. The Meteo France weather agency said the national thermal indicator — an average of temperatures measured at 30 weather stations — hit a new record of 30 C (86 F), the latest in a series of never-before-registered highs. The mercury surpassed 40 C (104 F) in some locations, including in Paris.
At least 40 fatalities from drowning have been recorded in the past week as people seek relief in rivers and other bodies of water, despite authorities’ warnings about unsupervised swimming. Most of the drownings involved young people, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday.
According to reports in French media, Kies was pulled from the Rhone River on Monday in critical condition after drowning in a prohibited swimming area near Lyon. He had since been declared brain dead.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
A drugstore sign shows the temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (105,8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments, about half the country, under a red heat wave alert. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Dozens of Kenyans marched to the Parliament building Thursday to mark two years since at least 60 people died in anti-government protests, as police set up roadblocks to prevent access to the capital, Nairobi.
Families whose loved ones died in the 2024 protests that were triggered by tax increases said they were protesting delayed justice and a lack of transparency in compensating the victims, after the government promised reparations.
President William Ruto last week said that the protest would be allowed but the government would also protect schoolchildren and workers and warned against any attempts by the demonstrators to “shut down the country.”
Police erected roadblocks on all major highways around Nairobi, blocking motorists from accessing the city. The Parliament building were barricaded and businesses were closed.
Opposition leaders backed the protests, calling for transparency in the $15 million government’s compensation program.
During the June 2024 protests, thousands of young Kenyans stormed the Parliament building, urging legislators to vote against a finance bill that had proposed an increase in taxes despite the rising cost of living. Police opened fire outside the building, killing dozens.
Ruto last week said the government compensation represents “a state acknowledgment that harm occurred” but was not an admission of guilt. He said the compensation should not be seen as a “reward for violence or criminality,” in a country where violent protests are common.
Several opposition figures — including former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, former Justice Minister Martha Karua and former Chief Justice David Maraga — marched alongside activists and the families of the 2024 crackdown victims, laying wreaths at the barbed-wire barricades around Parliament.
Nairobi police chief Issa Mohammud said the roadblocks were aimed at preventing criminals from entering the city. He said several people were arrested.
Edith Wanjiku, whose son, Ibrahim Kamau, 19, died of gunshots to the neck, said her family has yet to receive compensation although they had submitted documents to the state-funded Kenya Human Rights Commission.
“Only two out of 10 families whose children were shot that day near Parliament have been compensated and we are wondering what criteria the government is using,” she told The Associated Press.
Gillian Munyao, whose son, Rex Masai, also was killed, said that compensation cannot replace justice.
“Arrest the killer cops, that's my message to the government,” she said.
The chair of the compensation panel, Makau Mutua, said on Wednesday that the process was still ongoing and that every verified claim would be paid.
Three police officers have been charged in the deaths in protesters.
Police officers arrest a protester near parliament during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government protests that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A protester sings while holding a Kenyan flag near parliament during a demonstration marking two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government protests that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Police stand guard around parliament during a demonstration marking two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government protests that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A protester gestures while holding flowers, during a demonstration marking two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government protests that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenyan police officers arrest protesters near parliament during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government protest that resulted in the storming of the parliament, Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde)
Police officers arrest a motorcycle rider during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government demonstrations that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A protester places a flower on barbed wire in front of police officers during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government demonstrations that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Protesters sing and wave Kenyan flags near parliament during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government demonstrations that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A relative of a person killed during the 2024 anti-government protests holds a sign with writing in Kiswahili reading "It's not a must to finish one term" as she holds a rose during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government demonstrations that resulted in the storming of the parliament, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Protesters sing and wave Kenyan flags near parliament during a demonstration to mark two years since more than 60 people died in anti-government demonstrations that resulted in the storming of the parliament, as police officers stand behind a razor-wire barricade in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, shakes hands with Kenya's President William Ruto ahead of a working session at the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
