24 June 2026
An extreme heatwave known as an "Omega block," which is currently battering Western Europe and breaking historical temperature records, has dealt a devastating blow to the French agricultural sector. Major poultry industry organizations report mass mortality events claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of birds within a matter of days. The sudden surge has overwhelmed carcass disposal systems, creating an acute epidemiological and environmental emergency.
France is experiencing its hottest week since records began roughly 80 years ago. In the southwestern town of Pissos, temperatures soared to a staggering 44.3°C, while the rest of the country, including Paris, repeatedly breached the 41°C mark. These conditions have been compounded by regional power outages caused by extreme grid strain, partly exacerbated by reduced output from nuclear power plants whose cooling-water sources have become too warm, trapping millions of birds in lethal conditions.
The worst of the mortality is concentrated in France’s two primary production regions: Brittany and Pays de la Loire. Together, these northwestern territories account for nearly 60% of the nation’s total poultry output.
The sheer volume of sudden deaths has triggered a major logistical crisis: conventional rendering and carcass collection services have reached maximum capacity and can no longer keep pace with the influx. In response, French authorities are urgently evaluating unprecedented emergency measures to grant farmers permission to perform mass carcass burials directly on farm property.
