Laurent Wauquiez’s Air‑Conditioner Distribution Sparks Controversy in Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes

On 16 July, Laurent Wauquiez, special adviser to the Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes regional government, delivered three mobile air‑conditioners to the emergency department of the Lucien‑Hussel hospital in Vienne. The delivery was part of the region’s “Plan Clim”, launched on 2 July with a €10 million budget to equip 150 hospitals with 150 units, later aiming for 1 500 devices to create a strategic stock for heat‑wave emergencies. Each unit costs about €1 000 and the first day of distribution cost €1.5 million.

The event attracted strong criticism on social media and from opposition politicians, who described the gesture as a “band‑aid on a wooden leg”, a staged spectacle and an inadequate response to the ongoing heat wave affecting the region’s hospitals. Regional officials defended the measure as necessary to protect patients and staff in un‑cooled emergency rooms.