Europe experienced the hottest June in its history and thermometers are rising again: France melts and the controversy over air conditioning grows

At the Bazaar de la Electricité, one of the best-known electricity stores in Paris, it reads on its website: “Fans out of stock.” History repeats itself at Darty, at LDT or at Carrefour. They are all Chinese and they don’t arrive.

Although air conditioning is normal in the south of the country, in the north of France its use is ideological and They consider it “polluting” to the environment. Only portable ones can be used because the building councils do not authorize air conditioners with motors outside, much less the mayor’s office, who must be asked for permission.

Western Europe experienced the hottest June in its history this year, the Copernicus observatory reported this Thursday. The average temperature reached 20.74ºC last month, more than 3 degrees above the average for the period 1991-2020, the European Union’s climate observatory, Copernicus, revealed this Thursday.

Les Architectes des Bâtiments de France (ABF), the state architects whose mission is to preserve protected sites from “visual cacophony”, set the conditions strictly if they are close to historic sites.

This year, a Parisian woman requested permission to install roller blinds to insulate her apartment, in a 19th-century building, east of the capital, from the heat. The answer was “no.”

The country’s 189 public heritage architects are now at the center of a controversysince it is alleged that their commitment to maintaining the “harmony” of urban landscapes makes it practically impossible to modify existing buildings or build new ones, in vast areas of the country.

The modernizers, including the government, They claim that they are preventing the adaptation of millions of homes to climate change. They want to limit their influence.

But the traditionalists, including eminent academics, politicians and writers, published an open letter in the newspaper Le Figaroin which they claim that any such measure would “increase the ugliness in France.” The cohesion of much of French urban architecture is jealously protected, even in temperatures of 40 degrees.

In Paris, the issue is so controversial that residents of the upper floors have formed an association to oppose the influence of the ABF. Members of the Collective Top Floor (the upper floor group) claim that architects are preventing owners from mitigating rising temperatures, for example by applying white reflective paint to the capital’s iconic zinc roofs, which can reach up to 90°C in summer.

The architects, employed by the Ministry of Culture, are also accused of banning blinds and air conditioners, arguing that they break the “harmony” of facades Parisians.

Housing Minister Vincent Jeanbrun says such a demanding approach is detrimental. He declared to Le Figaro: “France cannot become an open-air museum, where facades are admired behind which no one can live. A living heritage is a heritage where one can have a dignified life.”

The minister wants to end the ABF (French Construction Authority) veto on new construction in protected areas. “Can we seriously accept that in 2026 families will be denied permission to install blinds?” he asked.

An open letter from architects and academics defending the AFB stated that they played a vital role in preserving the country’s “architectural coherence and the quality of its urban and rural landscapes.”

“France’s prestige and international appeal are largely due to the beauty of its churches, its bridges, its gardens and its private properties,” the architects’ defenders maintain. The controversy is not over.

Paris and its surrounding region, like the rest of the country, are experiencing their third heat wave since the late European spring.

The short-term news is not good. The current heat wave will continue and could reach its worst point over the weekend and early next week. The cause is a cold front, which will settle over the Iberian Peninsula and exacerbate the heat wave.

This high altitude storm, isolated from the prevailing air currents, will act as a heat pump. By rotating counterclockwise, it will draw in warm air from North Africa, further increasing maximum temperatures.

France faces another “severe and prolonged heat wave”, warns Météo France, which has declared the orange alert in 72 departments for this Thursday, July 9. Very high temperatures are expected in the afternoon, “between 35 and 39°C”, and even up to 41°C in the south of the country.

“On Sunday, July 12, a new increase in temperatures is expected, reaching or exceeding 40°C in New Aquitaine and Vendée, and exceeding 35°C in much of the country, especially in the west,” indicates Météo France.

Due to extreme heat, The Louvre Museum will exceptionally modify its opening hours, closing at 4 p.m. from Friday, July 10 to Monday, July 13, inclusive.

The Eugène-Delacroix National Museum, part of the Louvre Museum, will maintain the same schedule.

Workers demand that their working conditions be adapted to high temperatures. The electricity and gas workers work with an anti-thermal umbrella on the sidewalk.

There are already dangerous fires, with thousands of evacuees and a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter dying fighting the fire. In the Pyrenees, in the South and in the west of France.

The Eurostar train, which links Great Britain with France, has been Prepared to resist temperatures up to 55 degrees.

Eurostar has responded to the unprecedented series of heat waves by modifying an order for 50 double-decker trains so that they can withstand temperatures as extreme as those in the Sahara.

The railway company, which operates in the Channel Tunnel, last week modified the terms of its agreement with French manufacturer Alstom, to ensure that onboard equipment can operate at temperatures of up to 55°C.

The original order, valued at €2 billion and announced last October, stipulated that air conditioning systems and operating equipment must operate and cool passengers in outside temperatures of up to 45°C.

Gwendoline Casenave, chief executive of Eurostar, said this week’s heatwave has justified the additional investment, with temperatures once again reaching 40°C in France and highs of 35°C expected in London on Thursday.

Casenave noted that the decision was influenced by the fact that the Celestia trains are not scheduled for delivery until 2031. They are expected to serve for three decades. By then, It is possible that temperatures in Europe will equal the maximum temperatures recorded today in North Africa and Saudi Arabia.

“We are buying trains that will last 30 years. We think that maybe in the 2060s, even in the UK, temperatures could reach those levels. It is more expensive, but it will be worth it,” he said.

He noted that the new package, called the “Sahara option,” will include an improved air conditioning system, as well as higher quality components and microprocessors capable of operating at higher temperatures.

Meanwhile, Eurostar has stepped up its emergency response plans to deal with the current spell of sweltering temperatures. One in ten Eurostar trains has been affected by the heat, causing breakdowns and delays, Indian.

Several passengers were trapped for more than two hours without air conditioning on a disabled train in Belgium during last month’s heat wave.

The Eurostar board pointed out that the problem of Track deformation due to heat represents a particular challenge. By absorbing sunlight, the tracks can reach a temperature 20°C higher than the surrounding air. This causes the steel to expand and causes the tracks to deform or curve once the separation spaces between them are closed.

New metals, which expand less, are being developed with the aim of solving this problem in railway networks.