La Canicule, summer in France 2026

Before this year, I had no idea what the French word canicule meant. Just back from a blazing hot visit to Paris and southern Rhône, I now know it means “heat wave.”

France once braced for one short blast of oppressive heat each summer. Now, as climate change accelerates, the country faces repeated heat waves, some lasting well over a week. This summer, temperatures climbed to 112°F in parts of France. That is scorching anywhere—but especially in a country where air conditioning, or la clime, remains far less common than in the United States.

A summer of droughts, raging wildfires and sweltering heat

After multiple canicules, prolonged droughts, and dangerous wildfires, the French are beginning to accept extreme summer heat as part of their new normal. The debate over air conditioning has followed quickly. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right party, has been among the loudest pro-AC voices, calling for a broad national cooling plan that would prioritize schools, hospitals, care homes, and other public buildings.

Still, AC remains a highly politicized subject in France. Until recently, many French people were fierce skeptics of la clime, viewing it as bad for the planet, unhealthy, noisy, and aesthetically offensive. In a country that values restraint, public beauty, and environmental caution, an AC unit is never just an appliance.

France’s love-hate relationship with AC

The resistance is not only ideological; it’s also practical. In Paris, many older buildings were never designed for exterior AC units, and installing one usually requires a cascade of approvals. The unit must go on a façade, roof, or inner courtyard—all common areas—which means persuading the building’s co-owners before even approaching city hall. For the independently minded French, that alone can be a near impossibility.

Even if you get that far, you still need permission from la marie. Because an exterior unit alters a building’s appearance, municipal approval is required too. Remember, Paris is a city of patrimoine—heritage—and its character is inseparable from its architecture. Living there can feel like living inside a museum, surrounded by elegant 19th-century Haussmann façades, wrought-iron balconies, and cinematic zinc roofs. Mounting an ugly AC unit on the outside of that museum? Pas possible!

Never underestimate the French

Still, the French are pragmatic and inventive. One workaround is a portable air conditioner, or climatisation mobile: a wheeled box with a long white tube vented through an open window or door. The first time I saw one, it looked like a giant albino slug slowly sliding toward daylight. Because it does not attach to the exterior of the building, it requires no communal or municipal approval. It is loud, power-hungry, and slow—but during la canicule, it works.

Other solutions are older and cheaper. Locals joke that “French air conditioning” means closing the shutters, or volets. The ritual is simple: open the windows at dawn to catch the cool air, then close the shutters and curtains by midmorning, turning the apartment into a dark cave. Depressive? Perhaps. Cooler? Absolutely.

However, not everyone has volets. Again, French ingenuity: La couverture survie or emergency blanket. This is a thin, waterproof polyester film coated with a metallic agent. When properly taped to a window, it reflects about 90% of radiant thermal energy. But it is unsightly making Paris windows look as if they were lined with gum foil wrappers.  

Practical solutions

Other simple solutions include portable fans, or ventilateurs, which locals move from room to room, as needed.  I have several in my apartment which kept me from melting on this trip.  At night, I’d put a tall, rotating fan on a chair facing the bed to blow continuous cool air which made sleeping in the recent heat wave just bearable.

Both sexes in Paris protect themselves with fashionable umbrellas, rakish hats, and paper fans. This year portable handheld fans were popular too. Further, locals know it’s preferable to walk in the shade of their tree-lined boulevards and often do so with a water bottle in hand.

Government to the rescue

France’s Ministry of Health is proactive in providing safety guidance during la canicule. Hydration is their number one recommendation. Citizens are constantly reminded where they can escape the oppressive heat free of charge: naturally cool churches with ancient, thick, stone walls; department stores for le shopping; movie theatres; and museums with extended summer hours. One of the more novel ways to stay cool is found at the catacombs where a network of historic tunnels maintains a steady, natural 58°F!

Additionally, the city of Paris provides public cooling stations throughout the capital fitted with shower mist sprays and shade canopies. The use of the city’s multiple green spaces is also encouraged. Most parks are now open all night for people to take respite from the heat under the shade of the city’s iconic plane trees. And there are 1,300 public fountains the city maintains for people to refill their water bottles or douse their faces—or those of their beloved dogs—with free, cool water. Of course, you can always duck into a restaurant advertising climatisation for a refreshing meal away from the hot stove.

Bathing in the rivers and canals of Paris

Not to be overlooked are the city’s popular Paris Plages, pop-up beaches along the Seine’s Right Bank where Parisians enjoy trucked-in sand, deck chairs, palm trees, and ice cream stands. Nicknamed “Paris on the Riviera,” this public project began in 2002 and has become even more appealing since the river clean-up tied to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

The Canal Saint-Martin, an industrial waterway in the 10th arrondissement, has also become an irresistible swimming spot. Tourists now join locals jumping from iron bridges into the cool water, even though swimming there was originally forbidden. During extreme heat, city officials have relented by adding lifeguards and showers in designated areas. The catch is that after rain, when water quality can become unsafe, police must intervene. That vigilance matters: France has recorded a sharp rise in drownings during recent heat waves.

Frozen pillowcases and wet T-shirts

French creativity has no bounds. When recently in Paris, I heard about people putting their pillowcases in the freezer and pulling them out before calling it a night.  Others resort to showers before and after going to bed.  And doing so wearing a wet T-shirt and damp socks! Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, who lives part-time in Paris, periodically dunks her head in cold water and regularly puts a cold towel around her neck.

Dorie also explained that during la canicule, nobody wants to cook. Instead, Parisians resort to cold meat and seafood dishes and frequent visits to their favorite charcuterie to load up on pâtés, smoked meats, roasted chicken, and a variety of refreshing cold vegetable salads.

Editable solutions for keeping the heat at bay

The Canicule Information Service offers eating guidelines: choose water-rich fruits such as melons, vegetables rich in trace elements, and water instead of sugary drinks or fruit juices. Along with beer and bottled water, citron pressé—fresh lemon juice served with ice, water, and sugar on the side—is in high demand. So is cold brew from the city’s growing number of coffee bars. As for alcohol, residents tend to resist being lectured, calling the city’s outdoor drinking ban infantilizing, though most people naturally drink less when it is brutally hot.

The French have another secret: Picard. Sometimes called “France’s frozen wonderland,” this national chain of more than 1,000 stores sells almost everything frozen. During a heat wave, it’s the perfect refuge: you can cool off among the freezer cases and leave with high-quality frozen meals, vegetables, desserts, or ice cream.

Canicule summer dress code

Casual—with a capital C. Think plenty of white and neutral tones; light, breathable natural fabrics like linen and cotton; shorts, baseball caps, and stylish shades for men; and, for women, maxi dresses, long lingerie-style slip dresses, strappy sandals, and rather hideous Birkenstock-style slip-ons. When the heat climbs this high, the ever-fashion-conscious French choose comfort over couture.

I almost forgot the hottest accessory in Paris this summer: the banane isotherme, Picard’s small insulated, banana-shaped cross-body pouch. Priced at €7.50 in stores, it’s become such a runaway success that resellers are asking as much as €60 online.

Paris’ underground cooling system

Before saying au revoir, I should mention Paris’s most ambitious alternative to traditional AC: its underground district-cooling network. Operated by Fraîcheur de Paris, the system channels chilled water from the Seine through roughly 75 miles of pipes to cool select museums, hospitals, schools, offices, and hotels. As a public utility, it reduces the need for individual units that release hot air back into the city. Its reach still must expand dramatically before most residents feel the benefits, but it may become one of Paris’s most elegant—and certainly most ecological—responses to a hotter future.

So, if you’re in Paris during a future canicule, remember this: the city may not cool itself the American way, but it has shutters, fountains, parks, cold citron pressé, freezer aisles, underground pipes, and—when all else fails—Bertillon ice cream.

Before you go, here is a video from my recent trip showing how the French creatively adapt to extreme heat: https://www.instagram.com/reels/Das799biKmj/