While France’s heatwave plan provides a framework, its execution falls short for the most vulnerable. Many nursing homes still lack sufficient air conditioning, leaving elderly residents sweltering in facilities designed for cooler summers. A 2022 report found that only 60% of care homes had air conditioning in common areas, and almost none in individual rooms. For the homeless, cooling centers often have limited hours or are far from where they sleep, forcing some to stay on the streets during peak heat.
Urban heat islands in dense cities like Paris amplify temperatures, yet tree-planting and rooftop greening initiatives are slow and uneven. The government has been criticized for not mandating stronger building codes for heat resilience, such as reflective materials or mandatory shading. Furthermore, outdoor workers, particularly in agriculture and construction, face informal employment that makes health protections hard to enforce.
The repeated heatwaves this year highlight a pattern: short-term emergency responses are reactive rather than preventive. Critics argue that without binding national adaptation laws and substantial funding for retrofitting homes and public spaces, France will continue to put lives at risk each summer. The cost of inaction—measured in emergency room visits and lost productivity—keeps rising. The current plan is a patch, not a cure.