French race to get hold of air conditioning as yet another heatwave looms

On Thursday, hundreds of people besieged Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris, with scuffles and shouting breaking out as residents scrambled to secure bargain air-cooling units before the next heatwave hits. With few air conditioners available elsewhere for less than €1,200, police were called to at least two stores as huge crowds descended on Lidl to grab basic models on sale for as low as €179.

Mousa Traore, who had waited over an hour with some 200 other customers at a small Lidl in a northern Paris neighborhood, said he was told only two units were on sale. "But then the police came and we were told there were none. The police officers took them I think," he said laughing.

France has just endured a record heatwave that led to excess deaths, strained hospitals, closed schools, and canceled music festivals. Weather services forecast another round of hot weather this coming weekend.

Due to historically mild summers, few homes and schools in France are equipped with air conditioning, leaving them ill-prepared for increasingly frequent heatwaves linked to global warming. Air conditioning has become a political weather vane: the far-right opposition criticizes the government for lack of preparedness, while ecologists warn of high energy demands.

The crowd at the Lidl store was mostly good-humored, but disputes erupted as people tried to cut the queue. "I am not opening the store unless you leave," a manager shouted as customers harangued her. Another staff member told AFP only two air conditioners had been delivered, refusing to say if they were already sold.

Hundreds more descended on a supermarket in Sevran, with cars queuing and blocking the center. The same scene played out in nearby Livry-Gargan. "I give up, it's madness. I abandoned my car several streets away to get there on foot but there is already a huge queue of people in the car park. It's impossible," local Lolo told AFP.