How heatwaves affect where people visit, buy and live in France

After several official heatwaves already this year extreme heat is reshaping many areas of life in France, from holidays to housing. This is in addition to the many wildfires posing risks to lives and property.

Adapting the country to more frequent extreme heat has become a "health, social and organisational emergency", says the Haut commissariat à la stratégie et au plan, an advisory body to the government.

It says France must develop more shade, green spaces, bathing areas and buildings better adapted to heat.

Property buyers increasingly consider climate risks

The effects are already being seen in the property market.

Property group Foncia says more buyers are now considering summer temperatures when choosing where to live.

It says the Breton and Norman coasts, parts of the Vendée coast and mountain communes are becoming more attractive as a result.

It also warns that ski resort property prices could fall if shorter winters reduce the ski season.

Foncia says buyers should be aware of climate risks, including coastal erosion and flooding along exposed Atlantic shores, extreme heat, wildfires and drought in the Mediterranean, and damage caused by shrinking and swelling clay soils or flooding.

These risks could affect property values, particularly in less sought-after areas.

A poll by property website Leboncoin found buyers are increasingly thinking about climate.

Of 1,752 users asked, one in three had considered moving, or would consider it if heatwaves become more severe.

Many see the Breton, Norman or Atlantic coasts as refuges.

Homes designed to stay cool are in demand

Property website PAP says buyers should also note a home's design.

North-facing façades, east-facing bedrooms, shutters, blinds, shaded gardens and internal courtyards can all improve comfort during hot weather, while features such as patios, basements and ponds are increasingly valued.

Foncia says some homes are now being described as bouilloires thermiques ("thermal kettles"), echoing the familiar term passoires thermiques ("thermal sieves") used for poorly insulated properties.

Since 2021, DPE energy performance certificates have incorporated a sad, happy or neutral smiley indicating summer comfort, although this does not affect the overall A-G energy rating.

The government is considering changes, including introducing a separate summer comfort rating.

Interest in air conditioning is also rising.

Certain reversible units now qualify for the reduced 5.5% VAT rate, rather than 20%, if they meet efficiency criteria.

Installing a fixed unit is not always straightforward in apartment buildings. Approval from the copropriété and, in some cases, the mairie might be required.

Property website Bien'ici also reports growing interest in homes with swimming pools.

Holidaymakers seek cooler destinations

Access to air conditioning and a swimming pool are also seen as essential by holiday rental customers this year, says PAP.

It reports bookings are up in cooler areas – especially northern Manche (up 24.4%) – and down on the Riviera (down 7.8%) and Corsica (down 4.2%), which many see as too expensive in view of heatwave risks and properties that are not always air-conditioned.

Rivers and countryside under pressure

The hot summer has also seen a record amount of land destroyed by wildfires, with more than 100,000 hectares burned before the end of July.

The heat is also affecting France's waterways.

All the major rivers recorded low water levels, although the main navigable rivers used by freight barges, the Seine and the Rhine, remained open to river traffic.

An estimated 25% of streams were dry by the end of June, reports the Office français de la biodiversité.

"It is also the intensity of the phenomenon in some regions that stands out and is a forecast of important consequences," it said.

It added that the worst affected departments were Creuse, Deux-Sèvres, Loire, Vendée, Côte-d'Or, Cher, Aveyron and Allier.