Sébastien Lecornu is, of course, absolutely right about that: There is no passivity. Not at all. After all, heat protection plans were activated, air conditioners ordered, and authorities mobilized – after the thermometer had long since climbed to record levels. Who would still dare to claim that nobody had done anything?
And besides: who could have predicted that it would get hot in the middle of summer? This completely unexpected natural disaster hits France every year like a meteorite from space. That climate scientists have been warning for decades about increasingly frequent and severe heat waves? We conveniently leave that aside. Apparently, that too remains merely one weather forecast among many others.
“There is no passivity,” says the sitting prime minister. That sounds determined. Yet a simple question arises: if everything has indeed been done, why are hospitals reaching their limits? Why are schools closing because of the heat? Why are millions of people suffering in homes that turn into ovens during the day and even at night? And why do we discuss the same problems year after year?
Perhaps the real misunderstanding lies in the definition of precaution. Precaution does not mean hurriedly putting out fires when the house is already burning. Precaution means building in fire protection before the flames flare up. Anyone who only orders air conditioners when doctors and caregivers are already working under extremely difficult conditions is reacting to a crisis – they are not getting ahead of it.
Of course, a government may defend itself against exaggerated accusations. Of course, aid workers, prefects, firefighters and medical staff deserve the greatest respect. They do an enormous job. Precisely for that reason, the statement “There is no passivity” seems so confusing. Because the real question is not whether people are taking action. It is: why do they have to do outstanding work every year under the same exceptional circumstances?
Even more remarkable, however, was the outrage over the number of heat-related deaths. As if the crucial debate were whether there are 10,000, fewer or more victims. At what number does political responsibility actually begin? Is there an official temperature threshold for that?
The truth is uncomfortable. France is not experiencing a one-off mood swing of the weather. The country is witnessing a development that scientists have been describing for years. The heat is no longer a guest. It is slowly moving in and making itself at home. Anyone who still pretends today that every heatwave is a surprising exception is fighting reality – and reality is known to always win.
Perhaps politics should spend less energy shouting each other down. One degree less outrage in parliament and a few degrees less in poorly insulated classrooms would probably be a far more pleasant combination for many people.
A commentary by Andreas M. Brucker