As another spell of extreme heat looms over France, bargain-priced cooling units sparked chaotic scenes at Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris, where hundreds of shoppers crowded entrances, argued in queues and, in some cases, drew police to stores.
With air conditioners elsewhere rarely selling for under €1,200, officers were called to at least two Lidl branches after large crowds gathered for basic units advertised at prices starting at €179.
Mousa Traore, who said he had waited more than an hour with roughly 200 other people outside a small Lidl in a northern Paris neighbourhood, said customers were told only two units were available.
“But then the police came and we were told there were none. The police officers took them I think,” he said laughing.
France’s historically mild summers have left many homes and schools without air conditioning, a gap that has become more glaring as heatwaves grow more frequent in what scientists link to global warming.
That has turned air conditioning into a political flashpoint in France, where the main far-right opposition party has accused the government of failing to prepare for rising temperatures, while ecologists have warned about the heavy electricity demands tied to widespread use of cooling systems.
Even so, the mood outside the Lidl store remained largely light-hearted, though tempers occasionally flared when some people tried to cut in line.
“I am not opening the store unless you leave,” a manager shouted, as frustrated customers pressed her for answers. Another staff member said the store had received just two air conditioners. He declined to say whether they had already been sold.
Hundreds of other shoppers also converged on a supermarket in Sevran, where lines of cars heading to the store clogged the centre of the low-income northern suburb. Nearby Livry-Gargan saw similar scenes.
“I give up, it’s madness. I abandoned my car several streets away to get there on foot but there is already a huge queue of people in the car park. It’s impossible,” one local called Lolo said.
Large wildfire forces evacuations in southern France
Temperatures of around 30C combined with strong wind gusts drove the spread of the fire through dry vegetation
Earlier today, firefighters were working to contain a wildfire in the Aude region of southern France.
The local administration for the Aude area, near the border with Spain, said in a post on X that weather conditions were still unfavourable because strong winds could continue to fan the flames.
Another wildfire in the Lancon area of southern France had been brought under control, the local fire brigade said.
A Canadair CL-415 of the French civil security flies over a wildfire in Pouzols-Minervois, France
Firefighters faced difficult conditions on the ground, with the hilly landscape offering no access routes. Aircraft were being used to dump water on the blaze.
Temperatures near 30C, combined with powerful gusts, helped push the fire through low, extremely dry vegetation.
Officials said about 200 people were either evacuated or ordered to remain confined in the communes of Pouzols-Minervois and Mailhac.
Two smaller blazes also broke out in Rognac and Lançon-Provence near Marseille, according to local firefighters.
Portugal braces for temperatures of up to 44C
Parts of Portugal, including the Lisbon region, are set to go on red alert after largely avoiding the worst of Europe’s heatwave.
The country’s IPMA weather agency said the coastal regions of Lisbon and Setubal would be placed on red alert for high temperatures today.
Tomorrow, that warning will extend north to the Leiria and Coimbra areas, where temperatures could reach 44C in some places.
Oppressive heat hits US for World Cup and 250th celebrations
Blistering heat and humidity spread across large parts of the United States yesterday, with forecasters warning the worst is still ahead for the densely populated East Coast as the country co-hosts the World Cup and prepares to mark its 250th birthday.
‘Heat dome’ conditions – when high-pressure systems trap hot air like a lid on a pot – remained in place over the Midwest and South and were shifting east, with around 46 million people under heat alerts.
“We are entering what could be the most extreme heat wave this city has seen in over a decade,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a video, urging people to protect themselves while watching the World Cup, celebrating the Fourth of July or – he joked – “renting out MSG to get married, hypothetically.”
Temperatures are expected to hit 38C in New York city today
Pop superstar Taylor Swift is rumoured to have rented Manhattan’s famed Madison Square Garden venue for her wedding to American football star Travis Kelce.
New York has opened hundreds of public buildings as cooling centres, extended hours at public swimming pools, sent volunteers to check on vulnerable residents, and set up “pop up” cooling stations with misting fans and wet towels.
In Chicago, the Midwestern hub, utility ComEd said the power grid was under “critical strain” as demand for air conditioning surged.
“Raise your thermostat as high as is comfortably safe,” the company urged, while asking residents to postpone using laundry machines, dishwashers and electric vehicle chargers until after 8.00 pm.
Beginning today, Washington is forecast to see three straight days above 100F (38 C), with the highest reading expected tomorrow, when temperatures could reach 104F.
If that forecast holds, the capital would break its daily heat records on each of those days, and Washington’s all-time high of 106F could also come under threat.
The heat arrives as the United States gets ready to celebrate on Saturday the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain, with fireworks planned over major cities including New York and Washington.
At the same time, football’s World Cup is unfolding in punishing weather.
A high of 102F (39C) is forecast for Saturday’s match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, where the game will be played in an open-air stadium, unlike some World Cup venues equipped with air conditioning.
This edition of the World Cup requires players to take a three-minute “hydration break” every half.
