The overrepresentation of young people
If this increase in deadly drowning concerned all age groups, adolescents are strongly affected: 27 children and adolescents lost their lives in 2025 against 1524, and 30 % of drowned young people (13 to 17 years) died, against 13 % over the same period last year.
Overall, the drownings followed by death were first recorded at sea (79), in front of the rivers (58), the water bodies (30) and the private pools (24).
Thus the risk during swimming in a natural environment, watercourse, water bodies or sea, when the sites are neither arranged nor monitored “is real and increased in the event of alcohol consumption”, recalls Public Health France. “The regulations, in particular swimming prohibitions, must be respected regardless of age,” insists the health agency.
A consequence of hot weather
These figures confirm in particular the disturbing very strong increase in drowning during the only days of heat wave, pointed at July 11 by the agency in its previous point: from June 19 to July 6, 86 deaths by drowning had been recorded against 36 over the same days of 2024.
During this long -up and long heat wave, maximum temperatures exceeded 35 ° C on a large part of the territory, while on the rest of July, high temperatures and rainy passages alternated.
Almost half (47 %) of the fatal drownings that occurred since June 1 took place in only four regions: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.