French battle over air conditioning as heat kills

French political – A record-breaking heat wave has brought air conditioning into the center of a political fight in France and beyond—where leaders argue over whether the technology saves lives or worsens the climate crisis. With Europe recording 200,000 heat-related deaths in f

For Severine Le Beuzit, the sound of heat comes first—then the slow realization that night won’t cool anything down. In Paris, she told Reuters she’s “not sleeping well” and that the conditions feel like “hell on Earth.”

In June, across the UK, Italy, Spain and France, temperatures above 100 degrees shattered records. Schools shut down. Concerts were canceled. Train lines were suspended. Wildfires raged. People sealed apartment windows and queued for fans and portable air conditioners, while the heat lingered through the night.

The problem is no longer only how to survive. It’s what to do next—and air conditioning has become the flashpoint.

Europe has a deadly baseline

Heat has killed 200. 000 people in Europe in just four years. according to the World Health Organization. which described the deaths as largely “preventable.” The WHO regional director for Europe. Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge. has said cities should reduce exposure through shade and public infrastructure: plant more trees to add cover and create a network of cooling centers available to the public.

That urgency has spread as Europe warms faster than any other continent. Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service, estimates temperatures are climbing by about 1-degree per year.

The latest surge reinforced the fear that there is no backslide. In June, temperatures hit 108 degrees in France and 113 degrees in Spain. All-time records over 100 degrees were reached in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

In France, the government’s public health agency recorded more than 1,000 excess deaths during the heat spell. Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, said more than 70 people died by drowning after people took to rivers and other waterways for relief.

AC saves lives—while opponents see a climate threat

In the middle of that toll is a simple claim with powerful numbers behind it: air conditioning works. Research shows AC is the single most effective way to prevent heat-related deaths, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and young children.

Other figures sharpen the stakes. Studies cited by the International Energy Agency estimate air conditioning saved an average of 190,000 lives each year between 2019 and 2021 as temperatures soared. The technology can reduce the risk of heat-related deaths by up to 75%.

But opponents argue that the same machines create their own harm. Air conditioning can raise greenhouse gas emissions and has been shown to increase temperatures in cities where it is widely used.

Left-leaning officials across Europe have argued for a broader approach that doesn’t rely on units alone—pointing to inefficiency in some systems and emphasizing alternatives such as cooling centers and flexible work hours.

The environmental case is often framed in energy terms. A 2022 study estimated that the energy supply needed for air conditioning generates about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions—about twice as much as the entire aviation industry.

France turns the thermostat into politics

In France, the disagreement over air conditioning has taken on a distinctly partisan edge.

In June, far-right leader Marine Le Pen said it was “absurd to have people die because of the heat” and promised that, if elected president, she would put into place a “massive air conditioning plan.”

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire called “individual air conditioning… a scourge” and urged “flexibility” and solutions such as better insulation to manage high temperatures.

Grégoire’s deputy mayor. Audrey Pulvar. took aim at the United States after American air-conditioning habits became part of online and media debate. In a statement. Pulvar said: “As the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. you bear a significant amount of responsibility for global warming and the consequences we. in France. are experiencing.” She added that Paris was taking responsibility. saying: “Your cities ‘90% air-conditioned’ are not unrelated to this. In Paris, we take responsibility.”.

The debate has intensified as heat waves have grown more frequent and air conditioner sales have surged across Europe, with France increasingly treating AC not just as equipment but as policy.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far-left French presidential candidate, recently said “We mustn’t do it” when asked about increasing air conditioning use across the country, adding: “Installing air conditioning everywhere means causing more harm.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Marine Tondelier, head of France’s Green Party, said she was “breaking a taboo” when she argued that air conditioning is necessary to save the lives of vulnerable people, adding: “There are places where we just can’t do without it now.”

The thermostat is already turning in practice

Despite political resistance, air conditioning use is rising across Europe.

In Italy, more than half of all households use air conditioning, according to the National Institute of Statistics. EU data shows AC accounts for one-third of all electricity use in the country. In Spain, about 40% of households rely on air conditioning.

In the United Kingdom, an estimated 4 million homes have air conditioning—double the figure from three years ago, according to The Guardian. In Germany, surveys show AC use jumped 6% between 2023 and 2024.

Government leaders in some cities are publicly shifting. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said schools, offices and hospitals should be fitted with air conditioning so the city is “ready for the new norm, which is more extreme heat waves.”

A more mixed response is what experts are urging

Even as AC spreads, health leaders say it shouldn’t be treated as the only answer. Kluge, the WHO regional director, said individual steps—keeping out of the heat, keeping homes cool and staying hydrated—can make a difference, but they are “not enough to fight a systemic crisis.”

He called for “a coordinated, powerful and institutional response.”

His proposed package includes more trees for shade, a public network of cooling centers, and social services that prioritize vulnerable populations, including the elderly, along with education about the signs of heat-related illness.

The WHO also points to operational changes during hot spells: more breaks and flexible shifts so workers can avoid the midday sun, and increasing staffing at medical facilities during heat waves to prevent unnecessary deaths.

For the people living through the current wave, the debate can feel surreal. One side is arguing for faster delivery of the tool that can cool rooms immediately. The other side is warning that the fight against heat can’t be reduced to buying more machines.

Yet the numbers driving both sides are stark: 200,000 deaths in Europe over four years, record temperatures in multiple countries in June, and a growing sense that the next heat wave may arrive before societies agree on the answer.

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