La Canicule

There is such a thing as vocabulary you wish you didn't have to learn, or at least vocabulary you wish did not apply to you. Today's undesirable word is canicule: heat wave. As in Paris est en plain canicule et les étudiants fondent. (Paris is in the middle of a heat wave and students are melting.) Les profs are melting too! I heard the heat index was 40°C today--just Googled the conversion and that's 104° Fahrenheit. This in a largely un-air-conditioned nation! Whew. No wonder we are all drinking tons of water and taking 2-3 showers per day. Of course, life does not stop for la canicule. We still ride the train, go to classes, and take excursions. We just don't smell good doing it.

This type of weather is not unheard-of in France but it is not typical either. There was a prolonged heat wave in 2003 or 2004 that resulted in several fatalities; since then the government has been more careful about issuing warnings, checking on the elderly, etc. when the temperature rises above a certain level. This year, winter was long and cold, spring was chilly, and summer was slow to arrive--our first week here we were happy to have sweaters in the mornings at least. There was some mirth in the press when the government rolled out its annual Heat Wave Plan for the summer at a time when it wasn't even warm yet. But clearly the powers that be knew what they were doing.

Before you ask, let me go back to the "no A/C" issue. The French are many things but they are not masochists. They enjoy comfort, but they are also very energy-conscious, as seen in la minuterie, automatic lights on timers in corridors: as I understand it these were installed as an energy-saving measure after WWII (7 decades ago) but are still in use, and not just in really old buildings. Most of the time, air conditioning is not necessary here. It would cost a lot to install and operate--I can't imagine trying to retrofit hundreds of Paris apartment buildings with A/C, nor do I want to see the Hausmann buildings bristling with window units. Some people even say that relying too much on A/C is unhealthy, that we're better off adjusting our lifestyles a bit and letting our bodies adapt. After sunset, I agree with those people, although I also know people whose bodies react very badly to the heat. I don't want to suggest that everyone should just toughen up--we are all different and have different sensitivities.

I admire the minimal approach to air conditioning in France because so many public spaces in the American South are overly air-conditioned. We all carry cardigans into restaurants; otherwise you order a flambé dessert just to have a chance to warm up a little. Going to a movie? Better put on warm socks and a hoodie. (I'm not joking.) This heat is not comfortable, but it is livable. If there were A/C here at Cité we'd never leave our rooms. This way, we might as well get out and at least lie under a tree in a park. Or eat some gelato as I did earlier today.