[Anchor]
Europe is currently experiencing intense heat, with temperatures hovering around 40°C (104°F). Yet, for many households in France, installing new air conditioning is proving to be an incredibly difficult task.
Paris correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports on the reasons why.
[Reporter]
In Andalusia, southern Spain, a wildfire has been raging for four days amidst a heatwave exceeding 40°C (104°F), claiming 12 lives so far.
Some 1,400 people have been evacuated, and the affected area spans 6,600 hectares, equivalent to the size of 9,240 soccer fields.
In Paris, France, public swimming pools are packed with citizens seeking relief from the heat.
The city of Paris has created three such pools along the Seine River and opened them to the public for free.
[Elias / Paris Resident: I have a fan at home, but the breeze is weak and it even blows hot air. So, it doesn't really help in cooling down the heat.]
As the deadly heatwave, fluctuating around 40°C (104°F), has returned, most people are getting by with a single old fan, keeping their windows covered with shutters and living in the dark during the day.
[Claudine / Paris Resident: We have no choice but to keep the shutters closed during the day. We open them again in the evening when the heat subsides. Carrying one fan around all day has become my daily routine.]
The air conditioning penetration rate is at the 25% level.
Although the excess death toll in Western Europe due to the heatwave last month reached 4,700, people in France are currently unable to use air conditioning even if they want to.
To install an air conditioner, one must obtain permission from the city hall by providing documentation proving that the outdoor unit will not damage the building's aesthetics, and must also secure the consent of more than half of the residents in the apartment complex.
Since this process usually takes several months, some people install them without permission, bypassing resident consent.
[Philippe / Paris Resident: Neighbors can just object without any reason. If that happens, you can't do anything. So, I chose not to ask at all.]
Even if consent is granted, the installation cost for an air conditioner with an outdoor unit exceeds 10 million won, and even those slots are fully booked for this summer.
Furthermore, if noise standards are violated after installation, the unit can be subject to forced removal.
Because of this, air conditioners without outdoor units are gaining popularity, but they are already sold out.
As public anger grows, a motion of no confidence against the government was even submitted to parliament over its failure to address the heatwave, though it was rejected.
There are growing calls to at least ease air conditioning regulations for essential public facilities such as hospitals and schools, but the majority of French people are forced to endure the worst of the heatwave without air conditioning.
Reported by Kim Si-nae | Video by Jung Seong-hun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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