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When horrible things happen to people you care about, it’s only natural to seek someone to blame. If you ask the mayoral administration in charge of Paris, France, it seems responsibility for Europe’s devastating heatwave is being placed on the United States’ affinity for air conditioning.
Last week, recently-elected Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire went on the record with Le Monde amidst one of the worst heatwaves in the city’s history — an event which has reportedly resulted in over 1,000 excess deaths across France.
Asked whether Parisians should rush out to install AC units in their homes which famously shun them, Grégoire sharply disagreed, saying that “individual air conditioning is a scourge — it makes the problem worse by heating the city even more.”
That prompted plenty of derision from talking heads in the United States, who laughed off the notion as a bunch of woke Parisians who don’t understand real heat.
In a blistering retort on Instagram, Paris’ deputy mayor Audrey Pulvar stepped into the arena on Grégoire’s behalf, blasting American commentators for mocking France’s climate woes while contributing the most to global emissions.
“For days some of you have been criticizing and making fun of Paris, because the city doesn’t have AC in every room of every apartment and places,” Pulvar wrote. “OMG, this is so rich!”
The deputy mayor continued, arguing that Paris, led by the mayor’s center-left parti socialiste, has done its part to reduce emissions, embrace green energy, and make the river Seine clean for summertime swimmers.
“Yes, there is still much to be done,” Pulvar continued. “But perhaps it would be more appropriate for one of the countries most responsible for the problem not to lecture those who are trying to find solutions for their own populations.”
International culture war aside, the argument raises a worthwhile question: do personal AC units fuel global warming? The answer, as with any climate debate, is complicated.
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