Heat, Trade, and 'La Clim': How Chinese AC Exports to Europe Are Surging and Triggering a French Political Firestorm

The Numbers Behind the Export Boom

Chinese manufacturers have been the primary beneficiaries. Midea Group reported that its air conditioner sales in Europe rose 35% in the first half of 2025 over the same period in 2024, with its self-owned brand sales in France surging 68% year-on-year . By May 2026, Midea's shipments in Spain and France jumped 108% compared to the prior year . The company's PortaSplit model, designed specifically for the German market, sold 100,000 units and was completely sold out in Germany and France .

Haier and Gree have also reported significant sales bumps in major European markets . Alibaba has noted a surge in both retail and business-to-business orders for cooling products across its platforms, including its international retail site AliExpress .

The surge is structurally significant because European — and especially French — AC adoption has historically been very low. Only about 25% of French households have air conditioning, well below neighbors like Spain . Repeated extreme heat is now breaking that cultural resistance.

France's Political 'Culture War' Over Air Conditioning

In France, the term "la clim" (short for climatisation, meaning air conditioning) has become a loaded political and social marker, splitting the country along left-right ideological lines :

• Far-right (Marine Le Pen / Rassemblement National): Le Pen has made AC a central campaign issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election. She advocates for a large-scale subsidized rollout of air conditioning, calling it a matter of public health and comfort. During a parliamentary session in July 2025, she asserted that "air conditioning saves lives" and announced a 'grand plan for air conditioning' . Some reports estimate the plan could cost €40 billion .
• Radical left (Jean-Luc Mélenchon / La France Insoumise): Mélenchon argues that AC must not be installed everywhere because it "would only make things worse" for the climate .
• Greens: Traditionally firmly opposed, the Greens have begun to acknowledge a pragmatic shift. Party leader Marine Tondelier broke a taboo in June 2026, stating that air conditioning has become unavoidable in some public spaces like schools and hospitals .
• Centrist/Government position: French lawmakers are wrestling with whether to mandate AC in new care homes and schools while balancing energy and emissions goals . Paris politician Geoffroy Boulard went viral on TikTok after installing Haier AC units in several Paris schools, explicitly showing their Chinese origin .

The Cultural Shift: From Resistance to Acceptance

France's cultural resistance to air conditioning has deep roots. Environmental activists have long criticized AC for consuming large amounts of electricity, using greenhouse-gas refrigerants like HFCs, and worsening urban heat-island effects . The external units are widely seen as ugly, particularly on historic buildings, and AC has been framed as a symbol of American-style consumerism . NPR and the New York Times both covered this as a uniquely French "philosophical" divide .

That resistance is now crumbling under the sheer physical toll of consecutive record heatwaves. In June 2026, France recorded its hottest day ever, with temperatures nearing 40°C (104°F), forcing thousands of schools to close . According to a poll published in early June 2026, 78% of French people believe that air conditioning is not environmentally friendly, yet in 2021, almost six out of ten French respondents said they would rather "suffer from the heat than install an air conditioner" . The gap between belief and behavior is narrowing fast.

Financial Winners and the Geopolitical Context

The surge in European demand comes at a critical time for Chinese manufacturers. The export boom has helped offset lost sales to the United States due to ongoing trade-war tariffs . China exported $27.2 billion worth of air conditioners in 2025, accounting for nearly 40% of global exports, according to OEC data .

Chinese brands are competing on pricing, reliability, and smart-home integration to gain share against legacy European brands, offering AI-powered, energy-efficient models . Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce has become a key channel for reaching European consumers directly .

Key Takeaways at a Glance

The story of Chinese AC exports to Europe is also the story of a continent confronting a new climate reality, and of a nation being forced to rethink its cultural identity in real time.