France struggles to deliver 30,000 air conditioners to hospitals amid heatwave

The French government pledged 30,000 mobile air‑conditioners to help hospitals cope with the extreme July heat. Health minister Stéphanie Rist said 7,500 units had arrived, with 15,000 expected by 15 July and 21,000 by 21 July, but unions report that many facilities remain without equipment. At AP‑HP, 1,800 units were ordered independently, and the CHU d’Amiens bought its own devices; private supplier Leroy Merlin supplied 1,900 units and a lawmaker helped secure 450 more. Union representatives criticize the lack of visibility, quoting Rodolphe Verger: “We are on a list. We don’t know what we will receive.”

In Angers, the SUD Santé union filed a labor‑law alert after finding a single cooled room turned into a makeshift dormitory for five patients, describing the situation as “scandalous and indecent.”

Municipalities have taken local measures: Alençon opened four climate‑controlled “cooling islands” for residents, while other towns adjusted public‑event schedules and provided refuge spaces as the Orne department remains under red‑alert status.