Although the figures are not precise (yet everyone seems to agree that the number is at least 5,000) there is much talk about the death of 10,000 French citizens during this heat wave. Clifford Orwin reflects on what this could mean. Does it tell us anything about France, the French government, or, more interestingly, the French people and their anonymous lives? He ends with this: "Is this the new France: Liberté, égalité, Chacun pour soi-même?"