France’s Heatwave Fight: Minister ‘Horrified’ by Air Conditioning

France is sweating through a brutal heatwave, but its environment minister remains firmly against the one solution most people want: air conditioning. Monique Barbut said she was “horrified” by the idea of widespread A/C use, even as schools, hospitals, and care homes suffer in record temperatures. The rest of the world watches in confusion. While many countries rely on air conditioning to survive heatwaves, France has long been suspicious of it. French people are slowly starting to buy A/C units, but the technology remains politically controversial. It is also difficult to install in historic towns and cities, where old buildings and strict preservation rules block modern cooling systems. Technology Editor Peter O’Brien says the debate is needlessly heated. He argues that France’s resistance to air conditioning is more about culture than common sense. The question now is whether this heatwave will finally change French minds—or leave them sweating through the next one.