French Can’t Afford AC? Paris Blasts Americans Amid Deadly Heatwave: ‘Enough of Your Lectures’

A brutal 40°C (104°F) heatwave in Europe has triggered an unexpected transatlantic war of words. After American tourists and social media users mocked France for its lack of widespread air conditioning, Paris Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar fired back in an explosive Instagram post. Pulvar accused the United States—one of history’s largest greenhouse gas emitters—of directly causing the deadly weather, while warning that America’s reliance on AC creates a toxic loop of high energy use and urban waste heat. As landmark sites like the Eiffel Tower shut early and heat-related deaths rise, the crisis has reignited a fierce debate over who truly bears the blame for global warming.