This underscores a serious social problem in Europe
The growing isolation of the elderly.
Many of those who died were living alone in their homes, in the sweltering heat, and hadn't been visited by family in months, or even years. Nobody has a clue there is a problem until some neighbor notices that the mail is piling up. French President Chirac even took the step of criticizing the French public in a recent speech for their collective abandonment of the elderly in their lives.