The heatwave sweeping across Europe is expected to reach France on Tuesday, July 1st, with temperatures in some regions expected to exceed 40°C (104°F). In Paris, the thermometer has already reached 38°C (100°F), which is particularly high for this time of year. How can we combat the heatwave? Air conditioning, which is struggling to gain ground in France, is becoming a political issue: the Right is calling for it, while leftist greens condemn it.
Faced with the heat, mayors across the country have taken the inevitable decision to close classrooms and sometimes entire schools. In some poorly constructed school buildings, which are not maintained due to a lack of funds, the temperature had already exceeded 30°C (86°F) in the early morning; it is impossible to teach properly in these conditions, especially with young children.
But not everyone is happy with these closures. Élisabeth Borne, former prime minister and now minister of national education, has strongly criticised the mayor of the Tours metropolitan area for closing schools, which she considers excessive and politically motivated. The mayor of Tours, outraged by the attitude of politicians who work in air-conditioned offices in Paris, cordially invited Borne to hold the cabinet meeting in a classroom so she could see the situation for herself.
The issue of heat in school buildings has become a topic of national debate at a time when, again from the air-conditioned offices of the ministry in Paris, there is discussion about extending the school year to reduce the length of the ‘long holidays’ which in France traditionally cover the entire months of July and August. How can we expect to keep children in school longer if we cannot provide them with decent conditions?
Marine Le Pen expressed her outrage on X about the conditions in which pupils are forced to study, and explained that she intends to implement a major “air conditioning plan” if she comes to power:
While heat waves will unfortunately become a regular occurrence, public services are unable to function due to a lack of air conditioning, unlike dozens of countries around the world. Hospitals, schools, retirement homes, public transport, etc. are not equipped, even though these places are home to French people who are particularly sensitive to heat. The government is still turning things upside down. I am also thinking of all the workers who are suffocating in buildings without air conditioning because leaders have decided that the French people should suffer from the heat, while they themselves obviously enjoy air-conditioned vehicles and offices. With the so-called French elites, austerity is always reserved for the middle and working classes.
The subject of air conditioning is taboo in France. The French traditionally make little use of it and are wary of it for a variety of reasons: air conditioning is accused of being energy-intensive or a sign of bourgeois luxury. It is also criticised for circulating poor-quality air. These arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. The energy consumption of air conditioners should not be a problem in a France that is self-sufficient thanks to nuclear energy. Today’s air conditioner models are nothing like those of twenty or thirty years ago in terms of air quality or noise pollution. Above all, air conditioning remains the only viable alternative when recent buildings, unlike older stone constructions, overheat.
Yet the Greens have taken up the cudgels to attack Marine Le Pen and her ‘false solutions.’ Marine Tondelier, president of the Green Party, responded to Marine Le Pen on X, accusing her of having nothing to offer other than “buying air conditioners.” For her, the solution obviously lies in subsidised energy transition policies—which will not, in the immediate term, prevent poor children from boiling in their chairs.
Since Marine Le Pen’s statement on X, the social network has become the scene of a fierce battle: the Right is accused of wanting to impose air conditioning, while the Left, which is necessarily virtuous, is fighting for the climate. Sovereignist MP Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has denounced the planned improvements to prisons (air conditioning and additional showers), while parents and pupils have to make do with closed classrooms—in the best-case scenario.
This ongoing debate reveals yet another instance where left-wing ideology is hindering progress, leaving ordinary French citizens to deal with the consequences.
