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The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
How do I feel about air conditioning? I'm very hot – but it's destroying the planet
It's way too hot. I'm cowering inside, curtains drawn, pale limbs clammily exposed, the sound of my overheated laptop fan drowning out the sound of an ancient, feeble desk fan. If it gets any hotter, I'll stagger to my air-conditioned car and drive to the air-conditioned supermarket to stand in its chilly aisles, shamelessly fanning myself over the ravaged ice-cream cabinet in the freezer aisle. I've even become nostalgic for the summer when I shared an office with a man who insisted on having the AC set to 17C, meaning I had to wear a cardigan to work in August. Ah, air conditioning, the dream. Or the nightmare? Welcome to appliance culture wars, 2025 edition. You may recall, in 2023, the US debated whether induction hobs were a communist plot; then last year Republicans tried, in all apparent seriousness, to pass the Liberty in Laundry and Refrigerator Freedom acts. This year has already featured Donald Trump pledging to 'make America's showers great again' (low water pressure means it takes 15 minutes to wet his 'beautiful hair') and now France is grappling with Marine Le Pen declaring herself its AC champion. As the country suffered through an early summer heatwave, with temperatures reaching the 40s, schools closing and, according to modelling, an estimated 235 deaths, Le Pen pledged, if elected, to launch a 'grand plan' to cool France. Her ally, Éric Ciotti, called for AC to be obligatory in schools, hospitals and care homes to 'protect the most vulnerable'. With even higher temperatures predicted, this might prove a popular promise. It would certainly please the many Americans holidaying in Europe, expressing their sweaty astonishment at how we manage here without the chilly kiss of refrigerant-gas-cooled air. But the French AC debate rapidly heated up: Le Pen faced scathing criticism from the Greens and ecological transition minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who noted Le Pen's party voted against plans to develop more sustainable 'cooling networks'. The environment agency president called AC 'an alibi for inaction'. Accused of hypocrisy by right-wing commentators after reporting on environmental concerns around AC, Libération even published a follow-up confirming its offices were not air conditioned (though conceding a few 'air coolers' had taken the temperature down to 32C – ugh – in the hottest spots). Because climate control is a climate problem. In the US, where AC is ubiquitous and its necessity not up for debate, the Department of Energy says it accounts for about 12% of energy consumption in homes and 'contributes significantly to carbon dioxide emissions, releasing over 100m metric tons annually'. In 2019, the International Energy Authority predicted that, as the rest of the world catches up, AC will produce 2bn tonnes of CO2 annually. Relying on it to cope with an ever-hotter planet contributes to global heating, making us need it more. That's not a solution; in Pannier-Runacher's words, it's a 'maladaptive' coping mechanism. AC is quantifiably bad, but I think it's also philosophically problematic. Cooling offers comfort, making the unbearable bearable, at least for now. That happens at a community level (no one is really disputing we should keep the very old, the very young and the vulnerable cool), but also individually. When you can buy a personal bubble of coolness and not truly feel the heat, the screaming urgency to tackle the collective issue of a world on fire can recede slightly. And this is where I have to fess up. I actually have AC – a little freestanding unit we use only in the evenings, maybe 10 times a year. We also have solar panels and a battery, which helps me sleep at night, but the cool helps more. If the government came for my AC, I wouldn't demand they 'pry it out of my cold, dead hands', as one Republican said of his gas stove, but at times like these, I'm deeply, guiltily glad of it. Air conditioning isn't the answer. We need more ambitious plans but, without them, many more people – not just rampant individualists, climate deniers, laundry liberators and fridge freedom fighters, but hot furtive hypocrites like me and anyone desperate to get some sleep – will be tempted by the easy, cool, breezy solution. Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist
Local France
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French politicians embroiled in fiery debate over air conditioning
Recent days have seen rare red level heatwave alerts issued for northern and central France - including Paris. The red warning level means that there is a potential danger to life from the high temperatures and on Wednesday the country's environment minister confirmed that at least two people have died from the effects of heat, while more than 300 have been treated by emergency services. But in the political world the battle generating heat is over the use of air conditioning - with Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National party calling for a "grand plan for air conditioning", which the left and the Macronists see only as a back-up solution, advocating the development of other measures such as vegetation or thermal insulation. Air conditioning remains uncommon in France, especially in private homes - but while some argue that ever-increasing temperatures make it a practical necessity, others point to the environmental damage. READ ALSO : The rules for installing air conditioning in your French home✎ Le Pen on Monday called for a " grand plan pour la climatisation " (major air-conditioning equipment plan), echoed by her right-wing ally Eric Ciotti, who wants to prioritise "schools, hospitals and retirement homes". Advertisement The far-right leader deplored the fact that "public services (are) unable to function for lack of air conditioning, unlike dozens of countries around the world". 'I'm also thinking of all the workers who are suffocating in buildings without air conditioning, because some leaders have decided that the French should suffer from the heat, while they themselves obviously enjoy air-conditioned vehicles and offices,' Le Pen fumed on X. On Wednesday, right-wing parliamentary group UDR (Union des Droites pour la République) tabled a bill to introduce "compulsory air-conditioning for priority public spaces". "We urgently need to launch a major national equipment plan for the most vulnerable, through the massive development of cooling and air-conditioning networks. It is our duty (...) to generalise these solutions", asserts Eric Ciotti's group in its text. But their text did not gain the support of those on the left, or within Macron's centrist party. "Those who are talking to you about a major air-conditioning plan are acting like they have just discovered the Moon," Environment Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher told BFMTV. "They are incompetents, who have just discovered that in Ehpads [retirement homes], we need air-conditioned rooms. Thank you, that's been compulsory since 2004," she snapped. "The issue we're dealing with with air conditioning is one of global warming," she added, alongside Prime Minister François Bayrou, on Tuesday. Advertisement "We need to offer air conditioning to vulnerable people or those in high-risk groups, in order to give them a break. On the other hand, we mustn't do it everywhere, otherwise we run the risk of warming up the country and so it's a bad solution." "The objective must remain to have better insulated buildings", said Gabriel Attal, head of Macron's Renaissance group, told Franco Info. "There's a tension between health issues on the one hand, making sure the French don't get too hot, and ecological issues on the other, because that air conditioners consume and emit greenhouse gases.' Despite the side effects of air conditioning - energy consumption, heat produced in the street from air conditioning units - the left also recognises that it is essential for vulnerable or high-risk people. Advertisement In a statement to AFP, Boris Vallaud, the leader of the Parti Socialist MPs, said he was 'in favour of air-conditioning for establishments catering for young people'. The hard-left La France Insoumise, for its part, unveiled a 'heatwave response' plan on Tuesday, with the aim of 'installing air conditioning in all public hospitals, nursing homes and schools'. Ecologist leader Marine Tondelier quipped on X about 'Marine Le Pen's ecological programme', which she said was limited to 'buying air conditioners'. But she also acknowledged that 'hospitals, schools and nursing homes' need to be 'air-conditioned, for both staff and the public', after being tackled by RN MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy, who invited her to 'work in a 35-degree hospital'. The Green leader argues that "unlike RN, we've done a bit of work on the subject of global warming", and points out that "air conditioning won't be enough". "It's imperative to make progress on greening cities and thermal insulation of housing," she said. For Green MP Sandrine Rousseau, air conditioning in certain buildings "seems inevitable. But before that, there's thermal renovation", she added, referring to the need for "a shutter plan" and "a fan plan": "there are a huge number of buildings, public buildings that don't have shutters", which she believes can "insulate against the heat". What do you think of this debate? Do you agree with the standardisation of air conditioning or would you prefer to see other solutions? Share your views in the comments section below
El Chorouk
27-06-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
How Did Paris Transform a Dead Draft Resolution Into a Message of Appeasement?
Less than a week before the Algiers Judicial Council issued its final decision in the case of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the French side sent flirtatious messages to the Algerian authorities, in line with the appeasement language adopted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who avoided provocative positions. In a surprising move, the French National Assembly withdrew a draft resolution to abolish the 1968 immigration agreement between Algeria and France. The resolution was proposed by the parliamentary group of a small right-wing party led by Eric Ciotti, leader of Les Républicains (The Republicans), who was expelled from the party following his surprise alliance with the far-right, led by Marine Le Pen, in the recent legislative elections. The draft resolution was scheduled to be discussed last Thursday, but it was suddenly announced that it had been withdrawn under mysterious circumstances. This appeared to be a token of appeasement to the Algerian side, as the French feared an escalation that would not serve their interests in Algeria. Does this parliamentary action amount to a valid initiative to de-escalate tensions between the two countries? The parliamentary group that submitted the draft resolution has only 16 members and belongs to a fledgling party, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), which is less than a year old, and was founded by Eric Ciotti after he was ousted last summer from the leadership of the right-wing Republicans party. The current Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, became its leader in May. This party is considered very close to the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and her assistant Jordan Bardella. It ranked third in the recent legislative elections, behind the left-wing movement, or the New National Front, which won a parliamentary majority, and Macron's Renaissance, which ranked second. This means that the gamble of Eric Ciotti's group, which pushed for this project, remains a losing one from the start, even if the far right supports it, given the level of representation in the lower house of parliament. The draft resolution claims that the 1968 agreement grants Algerians exceptional privileges, unlike other members of the Maghreb and African communities, in the areas of housing, residence, education, and the practice of liberal professions. The draft resolution states that 'it is time to adapt our legal arsenal regarding immigration to the development of our relationship with Algeria,' and calls for 'the restoration of the state's legal means to limit the granting of visas to Algerians, and to suspend them when necessary.' This draft was preceded by similar initiatives targeting the 1968 migration agreement between Algeria and France, but they failed due to a lack of the required votes. This indicates that the Eric Ciotti Group's draft resolution was not intended to overturn this long-standing agreement, but rather to pursue political and diplomatic objectives through its introduction and subsequent withdrawal. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously intervened on more than one occasion to confirm that he does not intend to unilaterally abrogate the 1968 agreement. He has clashed repeatedly with his Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, regarding the latter's continued interference in Algerian relations, asserting that this remains the exclusive prerogative of the Élysée Palace and the Quai d'Orsay (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). All this data indicates that the French lower house's continued progress on the draft resolution would have led nowhere, given the lack of chances of its passage. However, its withdrawal at the last minute transformed the initiative into a courtship of the Algerian side, adding to the recent rapprochement efforts between the two capitals following months of unprecedented escalation. The Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Living Abroad, Laurent Saint-Martin, took advantage of this situation to praise the MPs, considering the decision to send a calming message that would help reduce the tensions that characterise Algerian-French relations.
News24
20-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Anti-immigration Minister wins conservative party leadership, easing path France presidency
French minister won election as leader of the conservative Republican party. Bruno Retailleau has called for radical action to cut immigration numbers. He is likely to use his victory to press his case for the French presidency. France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has called for radical action to cut immigration numbers, easily won an election to become leader of the conservative Republican party (LR), according to results released on Sunday. Retailleau won 74% of the vote from party members against 25% for Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the party in the French national assembly. Although LR and its allies hold only 60 seats in France's 577-member national assembly and the party candidate barely registered in the 2022 presidential vote, experts predict a better run in 2027 when President Emmanuel Macron must step down. The LR's last leader Eric Ciotti quit the party in 2024 after calling for an alliance with the far-right National Rally (RN). The LR has wrangled since over its stance but has adopted a tougher line on issues such as immigration. National opinion polls currently suggest the RN would perform well in the 2027 election, which has however been shaken by legal woes for its figurehead Marine Le Pen. Retailleau, in his government post since last year, has emerged as one of the most high-profile ministers in the centrist-led coalition government. He said he would stay in the government but he is likely to use his victory to press his case for the presidency. Our political family is now able to carry our project forward for the presidential election. The LR is the successor of the UMP, which traces its origins to postwar leader Charles de Gaulle and was the party of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. Some 80% of the 120 000 LR party members took part in the weekend vote for the leader. The LR membership had increased from 43 859 to 121 617 in the two months before the leadership election.
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Anti-immigration minister becomes leader of French conservatives
PARIS: France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has called for radical action to cut immigration numbers, easily won an election to become leader of the conservative Republican party (LR), according to results released won 74 percent of the vote from party members against 25 percent for Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the party in the French national LR and its allies hold only 60 seats in France's 577-member national assembly and the party candidate barely registered in the 2022 presidential vote, experts predict a better run in 2027 when President Emmanuel Macron must step LR's last leader Eric Ciotti quit the party last year after calling for an alliance with the far-right National Rally (RN). The LR has wrangled since over its stance but has adopted a tougher line on issues such as opinion polls currently suggest the RN would perform well in the 2027 election, which has however been shaken by legal woes for its figurehead Marine Le in his government post since last year, has emerged as one of the most high-profile ministers in the centrist-led coalition government. He said he would stay in the government but he is likely to use his victory to press his case for the presidency.'Our political family is now able to carry our project forward for the presidential election,' Retailleau told broadcaster TF1 after the results were LR is the successor of the UMP, which traces its origins to postwar leader Charles de Gaulle and was the party of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas 80 percent of the 120,000 LR party members took part in the weekend vote for the leader. The LR membership had increased from 43,859 to 121,617 in the two months before the leadership election.
