France recorded an estimated 5,764 excess all-cause deaths during the heatwave from June 17 to July 2, French daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday, citing the country's public health agency Sante publique France. The preliminary estimate covers the 92 departments affected by the heatwave and represents an excess mortality rate of 36 percent, the agency said, adding that about half of the excess deaths occurred over the three-day period from June 25 to 27. According to the agency, the excess mortality recorded during the heatwave was the highest in France since 2003. The June heatwave followed a shorter and less intense episode from May 24 to 28, during which around 300 excess all-cause deaths were recorded, according to Le Figaro. France then experienced a third spell of high temperatures in mid-July. For comparison, the public health agency recorded 5,700 heat-related deaths during the whole of summer 2025.
Late-June heatwave causes estimated 5,764 excess all-cause deaths in France
Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held talks with Tomio Okamura, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, in Beijing on Thursday.
Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Czech strategic partnership, Zhao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China stands ready to work with the Czech side to carry forward traditional friendship, enhance mutual understanding and trust, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and promote the sound and steady growth of bilateral relations.
Zhao called on both sides to consolidate the political foundation of their ties, sustain the momentum of improvement in bilateral relations, and resume and step up exchanges and interactions at all levels and across all fields.
Both sides should further tap cooperation potential, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the economic joint committee between China and Czech and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, explore ways to strengthen cooperation in new energy, electric vehicles and other fields, and support enterprises of the two countries in expanding investment cooperation, Zhao added.
The NPC is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, carry out mutual learning and exchanges on legislative supervision, economic development, improvement of people's livelihood, formulate, revise and ratify legal documents conducive to bilateral cooperation, and maintain close communication and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Zhao said.
Zhao also said China is willing to work with all countries, including the Czech Republic, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promote the establishment of a fair and equitable global governance system for AI.
Okamura said the Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy, adding that it hopes to strengthen tourism cooperation with China and welcome more Chinese tourists to visit the Czech Republic, expand cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, cultural relic exhibitions, and direct flights, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's NPC and enhance the friendship between the two peoples, Okamura added.
China's top legislator holds talks with speaker of Czech Chamber of Deputies
