More than 11,000 French people died as a result of the blistering August heat, a toll that shocked the nation and sparked public fury over the government's handling of the health emergency.

"I was very upset throughout this painful period. It's an ordeal for the country, for the government and it's an ordeal for me... It is particularly upsetting to see a number of system malfunctions," he said on French televison late Thursday.

"I am profoundly saddened by it. It is possible to have regrets but also anger... Our system of alerts, our system of mobilisation is not satisfactory in the height of summer," he said.

"The monitoring system, the alert system and the emergency system, must be looked at again," he added.

France's center-right government has come under fire for its handling of the crisis stemming from the heat wave, during which temperatures repeatedly reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

France's surgeon general, Lucien Abenhaim, resigned last month amidst the controversy, but later said he had alerted authorities to the looming disaster and felt he was a scapegoat.

The government is now in the process of devising a multi-year action plan to boost care for the elderly, expected to be unveiled in October.

One of the possible measures put forth is to eliminate one of France's 11 public holidays to finance programs for older people, a proposal sharply criticized by unions.

Raffarin stressed that he had cut short his holidays and organised a number of meetings during the crisis.

"I don't want to apportion blame, It's the system which failed," he said.

However he did cite "failings" in the hospitals during August when many French people traditionally take their summer holidays.

"I think the concentration of holidays in this way is dangerous," he said.

He said many hospital beds were closed during the holidays.

TERRA.WIRE