French death toll could go even higher

PARIS - France's biggest funeral parlor chain said Wednesday that it counted 2,600 more deaths this month than in the same period last year, raising the prospect that thousands more people died during Europe's heat wave than officials estimate.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, whose government has come under fire for its handling of the crisis, warned about giving too much credence to early death toll estimates. The French government has said that as many as 5,000 people died, though an official count was not expected for weeks.

The death figures reported Wednesday by France's biggest funeral home chain OGF suggested that even the latest government estimate was too low.

Elisabeth Lichter, an OGF spokeswoman, said the chain counted 2,604 more deaths in its funeral parlors since Aug. 1 than in the same period last year.

OGF holds about 25 percent of the market, a figure it multiplied by four to estimate that there were 10,416 more deaths in France.

Shortly after OGF issued its projection, the prime minister issued a statement calling for "prudence" about vague estimates.

"It's necessary to have a scientific study that will establish these reliable figures," Raffarin said.

The government has said most victims were elderly people alone at home. Doctors say heatstroke and dehydration were often the cause of death.

Raffarin also said he had instructed Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei to assemble a panel of experts to estimate the exact number of heat-related deaths and issue a report within a month.

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