Why doesn't France install air conditioning in the Paris Olympic athletes' village?

Paris 2024 Olympic organizers had hoped that the Athletes' Village's innovative self-cooling apartments would make air conditioning unnecessary, helping them deliver the greenest Olympics in history.

However, nature seems to have not been kind to the Paris Olympics. After a rainy opening night and a humid weekend, temperatures in the French capital have soared above 30 degrees Celsius these days, leaving athletes struggling in the heat without air conditioning.

To ensure the health of their athletes, sports delegations from various countries are having to purchase their own air conditioners.

Louis Garrard, an accountant for OCOG, the Olympic Organizing Committee, said there had been a “race” to buy air conditioning among athletes. He also said Asian teams had a greater need for air conditioning, and seemed to like to keep it running all the time.

The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee had hoped to cut the Games' carbon emissions by half by using a water-cooling system under the athletes' quarters, installing insulated walls and advising athletes to close their curtains during the day. The system was designed to keep the room temperature below 26 degrees Celsius.

Asked about the issue last year, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo told reporters: “I have great respect for the comfort of the athletes, but I think more about the survival of humanity. I want the Paris Olympics to be an exemplary environmental example.”

According to the Paris Olympics Organizing Committee, this greening program is not only intended to serve a short-term purpose, but will have a long-term effect, after the Olympics end.

“We believe we have found the right balance for the village with the long-term responsibility of creating a model sustainable neighbourhood that will last long after the Games are over,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps said at a press conference.

France is a country with a tradition of little use of air conditioning, which makes it uncomfortable for tourists from the US, Latin America and even some other European countries to visit the country in the summer.

But with such high temperatures, even some French athletes had to turn to air conditioning.

"We have a portable cooler," said French swimmer Assia Touati.

However, the Organizing Committee's slogan of greening the Olympics still received some sympathy, including from the German sports delegation. Until now, German athletes have still followed the Organizing Committee's green message.

"The German team decided not to turn on the air conditioning and so far we have had no complaints," said Meike Schmelzer, a player on the German handball team.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo urged teams to trust science. But in the end, due to the extreme heat, the Organizing Committee granted teams permission to buy or rent air conditioning if needed.

However, agreeing to rent or buy portable air conditioners has exposed the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee to another accusation, that it is creating division among the athletes' delegations.

Those who have been provided with air conditioning, including the French team, are sleeping comfortably in the cool air. But Bernadette Szocs, a Romanian table tennis player, said she and her teammates had to keep the terrace doors open all night in the hope of lowering the temperature.

“There was no air conditioning, just this fan, and it wasn’t enough,” she said. “It was so hot, the fan wasn’t strong enough. When it was facing you, you felt cool, but as soon as it was facing away, you felt hot. We had to sleep with the door open at night. The rooms were very small.”

On the other hand, the fact that sports teams from rich countries can easily equip themselves with air conditioning while athletes from poorer countries struggle to cope with the heat makes people feel the gap between economically disparate countries.