“Ecological virtue” has turned into a public health hazard
The French climate blogsite Cliumat et Verité writes about why the French have an aversion to ACs, even when temperatures exceed 40°C. [some emphasis, links added]
In his blog post “Pas de climatisation, s’il vous plaît ! Nous sommes français!“ (Please, no air conditioning! We are French!), Nicolas Lecaussin discusses an ironic editorial from The Wall Street Journal that mocks the French government’s reluctance to embrace air conditioning.
He notes that French authorities seem to prefer seeing citizens suffer through heatwaves approaching 40°C rather than utilizing modern air conditioning.
Lecaussin highlights guidelines from ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) that discourage general AC use.
The agency states AC should only be used as a last resort for vulnerable people (like the elderly or pregnant women), and even then, only in a single room with the temperature set no lower than 26°C (approx. 79°F), due to high energy consumption and climate impact.
Lecaussin ridicules official government and healthcare service advice on staying cool without AC.
These tips include wetting one’s face and arms, eating cold soup, covering windows with homemade cardboard protectors, and turning off computers and hair dryers to limit indoor heat.
Lacaussin argues this forces citizens to live abnormally rather than taking real steps against the heat.
The Climast et Verité post points out that although public health agencies acknowledge a major surge in heat-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations, many French buildings (which it calls “thermal kettles”) and even hospitals themselves remain without air conditioning.
France’s climate is known for its warm, sunny summers – especially in southern France – and has always experienced heat waves.
Yet, despite its aging population, the country refuses to install air conditioners. Instead, it allows thousands of the elderly to die prematurely and blames the heat waves on fossil-fuel-generated prosperity.
Lecaussin concludes that prioritizing “ecological virtue” over practical cooling has become a public health hazard and asserts that France has nothing to be proud of regarding this stance.
If a prize were ever awarded for obstinate stupidity, some French officials would certainly win it.
Read more at No Tricks Zone
Approximately 24% to 25% of households in France have air conditioning today, compared to roughly 14% a decade ago
The French government does not ban air conditioning, nor does it block people from purchasing or using cooling units. Anyone in France can freely buy a mobile air conditioning unit from a local hardware store.
The title of this article is false
What is wrong with the title? Nowhere in the article or the title said that the government forbids the installation of AC. But it’s the elites, including the government, that is saying that the citizenry don’t need AC. Even in your comment you said that 24-25% of households have AC as if that’s an awesomely great number. That is probably what we had in the 60s and early 70s (I grew up in Little Rock from the mid-60s until I went into the Navy in ’72. Our home had no AC for the first several years before we finally had a window AC in the living room. But now in 2026 over 90% of homes and businesses have AC. If not for the whole house then at least window units.
It’s almost as if you don’t bother to actually read the articles before writing your post unrelated to what was written or what the actual facts are.
Not only are you a liar, but you consistently add nothing to conversations other than to argue with people, demean the authors, and belittle the site. So congrats on being a troll. This is your final warning before you are blacklisted from here. I see how you pull the same routine at cfact and other skeptical websites because apparently there aren’t enough alarmist sites for you to stink up with your pearls of wisdom. This is your last warning.