The culture wars have come for air-conditioning, at least in France. In July, as a heat wave broiled much of Europe, feelings about air-conditioning suddenly became a political litmus test, reports The New York Times.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader in France, declared that she would deploy a “major air-conditioning equipment plan” around the country if her nationalist party eventually came to power. Marine Tondelier, the head of France’s Green party, scoffed at Ms. Le Pen’s idea and, instead, suggested solutions to warming temperatures that included “greening” cities and making buildings more energy efficient.
An opinion essay in Le Figaro, a conservative newspaper, defended air-conditioning because “making our fellow citizens sweat limits learning, reduces working hours and clogs up hospitals.” Libération, a left-wing daily, countered such arguments, writing that the technology was “an environmental aberration that must be overcome” because it blows hot air onto streets and guzzles up precious energy.
“Is air-conditioning a far-right thing?” one talk show asked provocatively, reflecting how divisive the issue had become.
While France’s heated discussion of air-conditioning cooled along with the temperatures in the weeks that followed, increasingly hot summers in Europe mean that the issue is not going anywhere.
Decades ago, bickering over air-conditioning might have seemed strange in Europe, where there was historically little need for it and where keeping homes warm is still a top concern.
But times are changing fast.
An analysis of daily temperature data from Copernicus, part of the European Union’s space program, shows that much of Europe is now experiencing longer periods of severe heat than it was just 40 years ago. So while many derided air-conditioning for years as an unnecessary — and awfully American — amenity, it is now increasingly seen as a necessity to survive scorching summers.
Despite rising temperatures, only about half of homes in Italy today have air-conditioning, according to Italy’s national statistics institute. In Spain, real estate data indicates the share is roughly 40 percent. And in France, only an estimated 20 to 25 percent of households are equipped with air-conditioning, according to the country’s Agency for Ecological Transition. In 2023, 62.5 percent of energy consumed by households in the European Union was used to heat homes, versus less than 1 percent to cool them, according to E.U. statistics.
Energy costs are also usually higher in Europe than in the United States — where almost 90 percent of homes use some form of air-conditioning. The dense architecture of European cities is ill suited to ungainly air-conditioning units, and in places like Paris, securing the necessary approvals for old or historical apartment buildings can be complex.
Read more of this report from The New York Times.