France orders heatwave deaths probe (10,416 dead,claims OGF)

[VolcanoJen]

The French funeral home chain, OGF Group, now claims that 10,416 more people died in France in the first three weeks of August than in the same period last year.

Here's the link:
http://www.itv.com/news/1547358.html

Excerpt:

OGF's two funeral services chains command a quarter of the French market. It said in a statement it dealt with 2,604 more deaths during the first three weeks of August than in the same period last year.

It reached the 10,416 figure by multiplying that by four - to represent the whole market.

So far, Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government has put the number of deaths linked to the heatwave at 3,000 and said a final toll as high as 5,000 was possible.

Raffarin's administration has been criticised for failing to act fast enough to deal with the plight of the country's elderly and frail as temperatures soared above 40C (104 Fahrenheit).

[Paschall]

1. One new piece of info on tonight's news

It appears half the victims were over 85 years of age.

(I posted a link to this story from a French source earlier.)

[VolcanoJen]

2. Dupe... locking

Sorry, Paschal!!!

Please continue discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=6831

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator