France’s power utility to pour €80mn to cool down schools, nurseries and daycare centers

France’s state-owned power utility Électricité de France (EDF) will invest €80 million to equip schools, nurseries and daycare centers with cooling systems as the country faces increasingly severe heatwaves. The funding will cover a range of solutions, including fans, misting systems, portable air conditioners, fixed air-conditioning units and longer-term structural cooling upgrades for future heatwaves. “As heatwaves affect our country, we wanted to take concrete action by helping schools, nurseries, and leisure centers equip themselves with both readily available cooling solutions and sustainable facilities,” EDF chief Bernard Fontana said in a statement published on Friday. Half of the funding — €40 million — will go toward quick-deployment equipment such as fans, misting systems and portable air-conditioning units, capped at 10 units per establishment. The remaining €40 million will support structural upgrades, including reversible air-to-air heat pumps. France grapples with repeated heat extremes that are increasingly disrupting public services, particularly in the education system, where school classrooms struggle to remain operational. Education unions on Thursday called on education staff “to use their right to strike where necessary to protest against the lack of improvement in working conditions” with temperatures climbing above 30°C and in some areas exceeding 40°C. “Staff are scrambling, both literally and figuratively, to maintain the public education service, alone and under difficult conditions,” education unions said in a statement on Thursday. They added that the national education system remains “blatantly unprepared” for heatwaves that are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.