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In heatwave-baked France, ‘madness’ and chaos grip air-conditioner shoppers

Hundreds of people were besieging Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris on Thursday, with scuffles and shouting matches breaking out as residents scrambled to get…

By Samantha Johnson / July 2, 2026

Hundreds of people were besieging Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris on Thursday, with scuffles and shouting matches breaking out as residents scrambled to get their hands on bargain air-cooling units before the next heatwave hits the French capital.

With few air conditioners on sale elsewhere for less than €1,200 (US$1,400), police were called to at least two stores as huge crowds descended on Lidl supermarkets trying to get their hands on basic models on sale for as low as €179.

Mousa Traore, who had been waiting for more than an hour along with some 200 other customers at a small Lidl store in a northern Paris neighbourhood, said he had been told there were only two units on sale.

“But then the police came and we were told there were none. The police officers took them I think,” he said laughing.

France has just been through a record heatwave that led to excess deaths, overwhelmed hospitals, closed schools and cancelled music festivals, and weather services are forecasting another round of hot weather this coming weekend.

Due to historically mild summers, few homes and schools in France are equipped with air conditioning, making them ill equipped to face increasingly frequent heatwaves that scientists say are linked to global warming.

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