First, Chirac is not bashing the US.

Not on the heat wave, anyway. We do tend to hear an awful lot about how vastly superior European social care is to America's, though.

Second, is the french government responsible for the heat wave?

I think what is being looked at is responsiblity for the deaths. Hell, the damn French heat wave almost killed ME. Pssst...the secret word is "air conditioning." France is atomic-powered, for God's sake. Throw the environmentalists into the nearest lake and get with it.

Third, the previous socialist government had instituted the 35 hours work per week, and many nurses were not replaced during the vacation period.

I think we can just let that statement stand all on its own.

Fourth, the alarm (coming from an organism coordinating the info) was too late to save all those elderly people.

Don't know what that means, exactly. Alarm to who? The government? Are all these elderly "society's problem?"

Fifth, there are statistics in France. How about the other countries?

Good question. This CNN story at the end of August describes the French toll at 10,000. Italy estimates about 4,175. Other nations had smaller tolls, but the numbers are fuzzy at best, and depend on counting methods that do not absolutely pin the deaths specifically on heat.

Sixth, elderly people being left alone, while the children go on vacation isn't just a French habit.

It sure as hell isn't an American one. But then, the elderly are society's problem, right? Anyway, we don't take a whole damn month off across the country.

Seventh, it's 192 short of 15,000 (not more) and it's the entire month of august and not just the first 15 days, when an earlier info about the death toll was released.

True.