Most of France has been sweltering under a heat wave this week, so naturally air conditioning has become the latest flash point in climate politics. The climate scolds want to prod the public into adopting what they call “energy sobriety,” and the French are discovering that in practice this means less AC.

(FILES) The sun in Paris on July 1 PREMIUM (FILES) The sun in Paris on July 1

This summer the French government suggested air conditioning should be used mainly by those “who are very sensitive to heat (elderly people, etc.),” or who can’t open the window at night because it’s too loud outside. The advisory urges the rest of the public to opt for a fan instead, draw the blinds, and limit heat emissions from ovens, computers and game consoles.

The government added that if you must use AC, don’t set it below 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and air condition only one room. While it may be “tempting to set your air conditioning to a very cool temperature to cool down quickly,” the French state said that’s a green faux pas that “results in excess electricity consumption.”

That suggestion may become a mandate. The European Union has issued a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and this year France issued one of its periodic plans for getting there. The report envisions “intelligent building control systems” that ensure nobody’s setting the temperature lower than authorities want.

Meanwhile, the French Education Ministry has promoted a “passive thermal comfort” guide for schools that includes encouraging children to “wet their skin” to cope with the heat, among other palliatives.

The real cold splash of water is the public’s realization that climate obsessions come at a cost, and they’ll be the saps sweating under its burden. Marine Le Pen of the insurgent-right National Rally said this summer that she’d support an air-conditioning equipment initiative for the French. She’s right to see a hot political opportunity.

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