French Newspaper LeMonde asks: 'Should residents also install air conditioning in their homes?'

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire (Parti Socialiste): "It can be useful for cooling collective spaces and protecting the most vulnerable populations, but individual air conditioning is a scourge – it makes the problem worse by heating the city even more. That is why public authorities must act quickly, otherwise people will not wait: They will buy their own air conditioners and install them however they can at home, because the situation is unbearable. We need to provide answers and alternative tools."

Paris Mayor Grégoire on the climate crisis: 'To adapt together, we need to change our way of life'

Elected in March to lead a city that is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat waves, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire (Parti Socialiste) urged people to be "pragmatic" and not to respond to the current climate crisis with "promises of a better future in 10 or 15 years."

It is time to more closely listen to the scientists and experts who have solutions, which is why I wanted to set up a scientific council, which met for the first time a few days ago. We cannot hold out for another 25 years without taking even more action now. …

To adapt together, we need to change our way of life. Paris's climate trajectory means our environment will one day resemble that of Seville, and, in all countries that face these temperatures, the working day and daily rhythms are different from ours.

When we are on red alert [for high temperatures], we must be able to change the hours of public services and also those in the private sector. We need to start earlier, take a long break at midday and work later.