A senior official in Paris’ Socialist-led city government is blaming the United States and its heavy use of air conditioning for the heat wave that recently swept across the French capital and much of Western Europe.
Audrey Pulvar, Paris’ deputy mayor for international, European and Francophone relations, took aim at American journalists and social media influencers who mocked the city for its lack of air conditioning as residents and tourists endured sweltering temperatures last week.
Many visitors to Paris have long complained that the city is not built for extreme heat, especially compared with major American cities where air conditioning is standard in homes, hotels, offices, and public buildings. Pulvar, however, argued that Americans have little room to criticize.
“OMG, this is so rich!” Pulvar wrote on social media. “As the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, you bear a significant responsibility for global warming and the consequences we, in France, are experiencing.”
She added that American cities, which she described as “90% air-conditioned,” are part of the problem.
“Your cities, ‘90% air-conditioned,’ are not unrelated to this,” Pulvar said.
‘Like Torture’ — France Grapples With Historic Heatwave Sans Air Conditioninghttps://t.co/9HYf0DRh77
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 26, 2026
Pulvar, a former television presenter who was born in the Caribbean, defended Paris’ environmental policies and said the city has spent the past 25 years trying to reduce pollution, add more greenery, renovate buildings for energy efficiency and change the way people move around the city.
She argued that Paris is working on two fronts: reducing its environmental footprint while also adapting to a hotter future.
“We are reducing our environmental footprint AND adapting the city, at the same time, to the short-, medium-, and long term,” Pulvar wrote. “It’s not a one shot issue.”
Pulvar then suggested that the world would be in better shape if American cities followed the example set by Paris and other European cities.
“If every American city made the same ecological transition efforts as Paris and many European cities, believe me, the whole world would be better off,” she said.
“So please, enough with the lecture. Just start doing your part. Best regards,” Pulvar concluded.
The United States remains the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, behind China, with India expected by some analysts to move higher on that list in the coming years. Still, the U.S. has recorded one of the sharpest emissions declines of any major country since the beginning of the century, outpacing the combined reductions of the European Union’s 27 member states.
Picturesque Paris Rooftops Become Like Ovens Amid Scorching Heat Wavehttps://t.co/qvV4sI9REZ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 25, 2026
The European Union has also cut emissions, though critics argue its climate policies have come with high costs and questionable economic trade-offs. The United States’ reductions have been driven in part by the increased use of natural gas, especially after the fracking boom, even as fracking remains banned or heavily restricted across much of Europe.
The debate over air conditioning has taken on new urgency because Europe continues to see far more heat-related deaths than the United States. In 2024, the Barcelona Institute of Global Health recorded an estimated 62,700 heat-related deaths across Europe. By comparison, the United States recorded an estimated 2,394 heat-related deaths that year.
French officials said last week’s heat wave contributed to more than 1,000 excess deaths above the average for the previous two months.
Despite the danger posed by extreme heat, some Paris officials remain opposed to widespread private air conditioning. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire has called residential air conditioning a “scourge,” arguing that it can raise temperatures outside and worsen conditions in dense urban areas.
That position appears to be at odds with much of the French public. Polling has found that eight in ten French voters believe air conditioning should be standard in schools, nursing homes, housing, and public transportation. At present, only about one in four homes in France has air conditioning.
