France’s far right vows aircon for masses as heat turns political

France’s far right is promising air conditioners now, rather than climate solutions for later, to try and sway voters as Europe bakes under record temperatures.

National Rally lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy will unveil a proposal on Tuesday to install air conditioning in millions of public and private buildings, trying to capitalize on voters’ frustration with the government’s preparations for the recent heat wave.

The pitch is not exclusive to France. All across Europe, air conditioning is becoming a new political battleground - and occasionally even a culture wars debate - as officials grapple with how to adapt aging infrastructure to debilitating heat as the climate changes.

The issue has not broken down cleanly along ideological lines.

While right-wing parties have made the most noise about using AC as a ready-made solution, even left-of-center officials are debating whether once-temperate Europe may just be getting too hot to avoid it.

It’s a knotty subject. Europe’s unprecedented temperatures are killing people, and policies to cut fossil fuel use and prepare cities for a warmer world won’t help immediately. But AC can also exacerbate the problem over time, surging energy demand linked to planet-warming emissions and sending hot air into city streets.

In France, the National Rally - which has repeatedly voted against measures meant to slow climate change - is pushing AC with an eye toward next April’s presidential election, when the party will have its best shot thus far at taking power.

Many in France are angry at the government’s handling of last week’s scorching temperatures, which disrupted transport, school schedules and agriculture across the continent.

The heat is also straining France’s healthcare system. Nicolas Revel, the general director of the Parisian public hospitals, said he expects more heat-related deaths this year than in 2025, when 5,700 people died, according to Agence France-Presse.

In response, Tanguy has proposed spending €20 billion by 2030 for a cooling plan that includes home renovations, insulation and 40 million AC units.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was reelected in 2022 on an ambitious climate agenda, is not ignoring air conditioning. The government recently ordered 30,000 AC units for hospitals.

“They’re on their way,” Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Tuesday.

More broadly, however, only 28% of French homes have AC, according to energy transition advisory Hello Watt. That compares with over 50% in southern European countries like Greece, Italy and Spain.

France’s ecological transition agency, ADEME, is recommending non-AC solutions for the country. A 2024 report suggests options like underground thermal energy storage, or cooling buildings via circulating water.

It’s an approach that may broadly resonate with French voters.

According to an Elabe poll conducted last week, most French people share the feeling that air conditioning is only a short-term solution for climate change - with the exception of National Rally voters, half of whom said large-scale AC is the main priority.

The issue seems likely to spill into the election.

Whether the National Rally is represented by Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella in 2027, the party is set to make it to the election runoff, according to polls.

The movement of far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon - another leading 2027 presidential contender - has similarly presented a plan that includes AC in all public hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

But the plan also contains a warning: A massive AC rollout would only worsen the problem.