{"id":455088,"date":"2026-07-11T11:26:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T18:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=455088"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T18:26:49","slug":"fatal-snobbery-in-france-its-better-to-die-from-a-heatwave-than-to-do-as-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=455088","title":{"rendered":"Fatal Snobbery: In France, It\u2019s Better To Die From A Heatwave Than To Do As Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From No Trick Zone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By P Gosselin<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

French authorities seem to prefer seeing citizens suffer through heatwaves \u2013  and die by the thousands  \u2013 than utilizing modern air conditioning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Image by P. Gosselin using Grok AI<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cEcological virtue\u201d has turned into a public health hazard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French climate blogsite Cliumat et Verit\u00e9<\/a> writes about why the French have an aversion to ACs, even when temperatures exceed 40\u00b0C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his blog post \u201cPas de climatisation, s\u2019il vous pla\u00eet ! Nous sommes Fran\u00e7ais!<\/a>\u201c<\/em> (Please, no air conditioning! We are French!), Nicolas Lecaussin discusses an ironic editorial from The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/strong> that mocks the French government\u2019s reluctance to embrace air conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He notes that French authorities seem to prefer seeing citizens suffer through heatwaves approaching 40\u00b0C 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\u00b0C (approx. 79\u00b0F), due to high energy consumption and climate impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lecaussin ridicules official government and healthcare service advice on staying cool without AC. These tips include wetting one\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Climast et Verit\u00e9  post points out that even though public health agencies acknowledge a major surge in heat-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations, many French buildings (which it calls \u201cthermal kettles\u201d) and even hospitals themselves remain without air conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France\u2019s climate is known for its warm and sunny summers \u2013 especially southern France \u2013 and has always experienced heat waves. Yet, despite its aging population, the country refuses to install air conditioners. Instead, it allows thousands of elderly to die prematurely and blames the heat waves on fossil-fuel-generated prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lecaussin concludes that prioritizing \u201cecological virtue\u201d over practical cooling has turned into a public health hazard, asserting that France has nothing to be proud of regarding this stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a prize were ever awarded for obstinate stupidity, some French officials would certainly win it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French authorities seem to prefer seeing citizens suffer through heatwaves \u2013 and die by the thousands \u2013 than utilizing modern air conditioning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":455090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691844027,691820794,691844030,691844028,691819118,691844026,691821240,691844029,691828271],"class_list":["post-455088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ademe-the-french-agency-for-ecological-transition","tag-air-conditioning","tag-ecological-virtue","tag-climast-et-verite","tag-france","tag-french-authorities","tag-heatwave","tag-public-health-hazard","tag-the-wall-street-journal-wsj","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Uo8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":281473,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=281473","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":0},"title":"Great Travel Reset: Poll: 41% of French population favors restricting EVERYONE to ONLY 4 airplane flights in their ENTIRE LIFE to \u2018fight against global warming\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From CLIMATE DEPOT Consumer Science & Analytics (CSA): (Via Google translate)\u00a0Engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici, an expert on climate change, once again called for drastically limiting plane travel, and declared the need to establish a quota of 4 flights per person in a lifetime... HERE and the CSA Institute have just carried\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0thumb-1920-742688.jpg?fit=1200%2C737&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0thumb-1920-742688.jpg?fit=1200%2C737&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0thumb-1920-742688.jpg?fit=1200%2C737&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0thumb-1920-742688.jpg?fit=1200%2C737&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0thumb-1920-742688.jpg?fit=1200%2C737&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":449343,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=449343","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":1},"title":"No, New York Times, Climate Change Is Not Making Tennis Players Ill","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article in The New York Times (NYT) suggests that climate change is increasingly endangering tennis players at the French Open, particularly those less inured to the heat, making them ill and unable to compete. This is false. While it\u2019s true that this year\u2019s French Open at Roland Garros\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00-Copilot-No-New-York-Times-Climate-Change-Is-Not-Making-Tennis-Players-Ill.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00-Copilot-No-New-York-Times-Climate-Change-Is-Not-Making-Tennis-Players-Ill.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00-Copilot-No-New-York-Times-Climate-Change-Is-Not-Making-Tennis-Players-Ill.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00-Copilot-No-New-York-Times-Climate-Change-Is-Not-Making-Tennis-Players-Ill.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00-Copilot-No-New-York-Times-Climate-Change-Is-Not-Making-Tennis-Players-Ill.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":469870,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=469870","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":2},"title":"Scientists Find Estuarine Heatwaves Carry 150% More Heat Than Thought and Ecosystems Are Paying the Price","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/10\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Researchers from William & Mary\u2019s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences analyzed long- term temperature records from 20 U.S. estuaries and found that standard definitions of marine heatwaves (MHWs) miss a large amount of cumulative heat exposure from the warmer periods\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"20 U.S. estuaries\"","block_context":{"text":"20 U.S. estuaries","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=20-u-s-estuaries"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0-Scientists-Find-Estuarine-Heatwaves-Carry-150-More-Heat-Than-Thought-%E2%80%94-And-Ecosystems-Are-Paying-the-Price.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0-Scientists-Find-Estuarine-Heatwaves-Carry-150-More-Heat-Than-Thought-%E2%80%94-And-Ecosystems-Are-Paying-the-Price.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0-Scientists-Find-Estuarine-Heatwaves-Carry-150-More-Heat-Than-Thought-%E2%80%94-And-Ecosystems-Are-Paying-the-Price.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0-Scientists-Find-Estuarine-Heatwaves-Carry-150-More-Heat-Than-Thought-%E2%80%94-And-Ecosystems-Are-Paying-the-Price.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0-Scientists-Find-Estuarine-Heatwaves-Carry-150-More-Heat-Than-Thought-%E2%80%94-And-Ecosystems-Are-Paying-the-Price.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":257828,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=257828","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":3},"title":"Hot Summer? \u2013 Met Office Clowns Have Not Got A\u00a0Clue!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/17\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Met Office\u00a0has given its verdict on reports claiming that \u201cAfrican plumes\u201d could bring multiple\u00a0heatwaves\u00a0to the UK this summer with temperatures in excess of 35C.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0shutterstock_691981369.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0shutterstock_691981369.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0shutterstock_691981369.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0shutterstock_691981369.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0shutterstock_691981369.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":454527,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=454527","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":4},"title":"Right, Fortune, Europe\u2019s Heat Crisis Is of Its Own Making","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/07\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortune magazine published an article explaining that Europe\u2019s own policies have created the overheating problems being faced during the present heatwave, noting that by comparison the United States has dealt with similar heat easily over the decades. Fortune is right.","rel":"","context":"In \"Air Conditioning\"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=air-conditioning"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Right-Fortune-Europes-Heat-Crisis-Is-of-Its-Own-Making.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Right-Fortune-Europes-Heat-Crisis-Is-of-Its-Own-Making.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Right-Fortune-Europes-Heat-Crisis-Is-of-Its-Own-Making.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Right-Fortune-Europes-Heat-Crisis-Is-of-Its-Own-Making.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Right-Fortune-Europes-Heat-Crisis-Is-of-Its-Own-Making.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":393018,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=393018","url_meta":{"origin":455088,"position":5},"title":"New Study: Heatwave-Related Deaths Have Been Declining In Recent Decades","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A comprehensive new data analysis (Walkowiak et al., 2025) involving European countries finds it takes less than 18 years for humans to adapt to a 1\u00b0C increase in mean annual temperature. Consequently, exposure to excessive heat has become less and less deadly.","rel":"","context":"In \"\u201cgreen\u201d policies\"","block_context":{"text":"\u201cgreen\u201d policies","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=green-policies-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPQoHsXAe1RDYgtLbWQE7Zmd9pS1XvSPeSirVSuEw3GtBCbFe1Sti_FQ7psUvEkiYsVFi60RJ9rqZ_JkmnqYZtDTw6f4DveXPAYwX6dWGkDOUV2KVFS68JZ2CMrrDVWR-93SG3N6wHitqhKjn7KZgstHJhatA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPQoHsXAe1RDYgtLbWQE7Zmd9pS1XvSPeSirVSuEw3GtBCbFe1Sti_FQ7psUvEkiYsVFi60RJ9rqZ_JkmnqYZtDTw6f4DveXPAYwX6dWGkDOUV2KVFS68JZ2CMrrDVWR-93SG3N6wHitqhKjn7KZgstHJhatA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPQoHsXAe1RDYgtLbWQE7Zmd9pS1XvSPeSirVSuEw3GtBCbFe1Sti_FQ7psUvEkiYsVFi60RJ9rqZ_JkmnqYZtDTw6f4DveXPAYwX6dWGkDOUV2KVFS68JZ2CMrrDVWR-93SG3N6wHitqhKjn7KZgstHJhatA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPQoHsXAe1RDYgtLbWQE7Zmd9pS1XvSPeSirVSuEw3GtBCbFe1Sti_FQ7psUvEkiYsVFi60RJ9rqZ_JkmnqYZtDTw6f4DveXPAYwX6dWGkDOUV2KVFS68JZ2CMrrDVWR-93SG3N6wHitqhKjn7KZgstHJhatA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPQoHsXAe1RDYgtLbWQE7Zmd9pS1XvSPeSirVSuEw3GtBCbFe1Sti_FQ7psUvEkiYsVFi60RJ9rqZ_JkmnqYZtDTw6f4DveXPAYwX6dWGkDOUV2KVFS68JZ2CMrrDVWR-93SG3N6wHitqhKjn7KZgstHJhatA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0-ChatGPT-Fatal-Snobbery-In-France-Its-Better-To-Die-From-A-Heatwave-Than-To-Do-As-Americans.png?fit=1672%2C941&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=455088"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455100,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455088\/revisions\/455100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/455090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=455088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=455088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=455088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}