Il Nuovo Postiglione - Two children found dead in car as France faces hottest day of heatwave

The two victims, aged two and four, were found dead in their family's car in a residential parking lot in the southeastern town of Carpentras, where temperatures had been forecast to reach a maximum of 39C.

"The causes of death are yet to be determined, but the heatwave is the leading line of inquiry," said local prosecutor Helene Mourges.

France for the first time issued its highest heat warning across half the country for Monday, with forecasters warning the extreme weather episode could end up being as serious as a 2003 heatwave that claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people nationwide.

The children are just the latest casualties to have been reported during the heatwave.

Three elderly people died in their homes as a result of the heat in southwestern France on Sunday, according to local authorities.

And 13 people drowned across the country at the weekend, a civil defence official said, urging against unsupervised swimming to cool off.

Temperatures had been set to rise to a maximum of 43C (109F) in the southwestern city of Bordeaux and 39C in Paris on Monday afternoon, weather service Meteo-France said.

Overnight temperatures of 25.3C in Bordeaux and 24.2C in the capital broke records for the month of June, it said.

Several cities including Tours and Poitiers in western France experienced their hottest night on record, topping 24C.

More than 1,350 of the country's 60,000 schools closed on Monday, while another 4,042 adjusted their teaching hours, the education ministry said, updating a previous tally.

Other schools have suggested that parents keep their children at home or pick them up at lunchtime.

A primary school teacher in the Bordeaux region, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely, told AFP she was alarmed that the authorities were not taking measures to cool down schools.

"Last week, it was 32C in the classroom," she said.

"It's only going to get worse, while the supermarket across the street is cool and air-conditioned," she added.

"Everyone thinks it's normal, but one day we're going to end up teaching in the aisles of the supermarket."

- Global warming -

On Monday morning, Paris regional authorities urged residents to stay at home, warning disruptions were expected on public transport.

France is experiencing its second heatwave this year after an unusually hot spell in May that shattered records across half the country.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, primarily caused by burning coal, oil and gas -- and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Meteo-France says that of the 51 heatwaves recorded nationwide since 1947, 34 have occurred since 2000 and 26 since 2011.

Scientific studies estimate more than 70,000 people died across 16 countries in the exceptional temperatures Europe experienced in 2003, with France and Italy the hardest hit.

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E.Danieli--INP