During strong contrasts in temperatures (heat waves) very particular clouds appear: cumulonimbus.
In these clouds (which can rise many km), important updrafts produce many water and ice. The mixing inside these clouds produce electrical charges which gather in different locations. The positive charges being up, and negative charges being down.
When the dielectric strength of the space between up and down is not sufficient anymore, an emission produces (a huge spark). The lightning is the visible representation of this emission. This is a very violent and short electrical discharge, passing through the space between cloud and ground.
The lightning strikes are discharges appearing between the clouds. France is impacted each year between 1 and 2 million times by lightning, depending on the meteorological conditions. This frequency depends from a location to another.
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