French Prime Minister Mr Jean-Pierre Raffarin defended his government's handling of the recent heatwave amid reports that the final death toll could hit 5,000, far higher than the 3,000 victims registered so far.
In an interview with the weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanchepublished today, the conservative premier said he was "appalled" by calls by opposition Socialists and Greens for the resignation of his health minister, Mr Jean-Francois Mattei.
"All of this is ridiculous. Politics is not a permanent settlement of scores. Faced with such human tragedies, the time is for solidarity, not for sterile polemic," he said.
The newspaper quoted unnamed sources at the health ministry as saying the death toll since July 25th, previously estimated at 3,000, could rise to 5,000 when the government unveils final figures next week.
Victims were mainly elderly people with heat-related conditions, such as hyperthermia and dehydration. Many were found at home alone as the traditional August holiday exodus leaves city centres deserted.
Mr Raffarin cut short his vacation for an emergency meeting on Thursday to tackle the crisis, which authorities described as "a genuine epidemic", after temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country.
The French government recalled medical staff from holidays under an emergency plan designed to deal with terrorist attacks, natural disasters or epidemics.
As morgues and funeral parlours struggled to cope with an overflow of victims, health authorities took over a disused storeroom at a farmers' market on the outskirts of Paris where several hundred bodies lay awaiting burial.
"Is this the result of a war? An earthquake? No, the consequence of the heatwave of the summer of 2003," Le Journal du Dimanchesaid in an editorial.
"When the weather behaves unusually to such an extent, and for this long, it is the duty of public authorities to warn the population and to prevent its consequences. This did not happen," it added.
Temperatures have subsided in recent days. State-owned utility Electricite de France has ruled out the threat of blackouts next week, providing the weather stays the same.