At least 55 people drowned in France while trying to cool off from record-breaking heat, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari told broadcaster Franceinfo.
The government fears that this number could rise in the coming days, as 61 French departments are under red heat alerts and another 25 under orange alerts on Friday, according to the broadcaster.
Authorities expect 11 departments to be downgraded from red to orange alert on Friday evening, while 13 more will be removed from the red alert list on Saturday morning.
According to Meteo-France, temperatures are expected to range between 36°C and 41°C across various parts of the country on Friday.
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