France heatwave: Lidl discount air-conditioner sale sparks brawls, injuries and online profiteering
On 2 July, Lidl's nationwide offer of 200,000 fans and portable air-conditioners at as little as €3.99 drew chaotic scenes at stores across France as a punishing heatwave pushed demand to breaking point.
In-store chaos
Long before the 8:30 a.m. opening, queues of up to 400 people had formed at discounters from Saint-Germain-en-Laye to the 14th arrondissement of Paris. When doors opened, crowds pushed, trampled and fought. In one Paris store a customer used pepper spray, affecting eight people including a 12-year-old child. In Nanterre, doors were forced open. Stocks of the 200,000 units vanished in minutes. Police and firefighters were called to stores in Aubervilliers, Levallois-Perret, Sevran and elsewhere.
People rushed into the store like never before. They were falling in front of me, crying, tearing at each other. It was total chaos. One woman's arm was bleeding. A man was being trampled on the floor. I was ashamed to be there.
Heatwave toll and surging demand
The violent scramble followed the three hottest days ever measured in France, with temperatures reaching 44.3 °C in the Landes department and nearly 40 °C in 81 departments. French public health officials reported a 29.1 % jump in deaths during the week of 22 June, an excess of 2,025 fatalities. Air-conditioner penetration has doubled since 2016, now exceeding 25 % of households.
- Week of 22 June records 29 % excess mortality as first two heatwaves strike France
- Lidl announces sale of 200,000 fans and ACs; posts Game of Thrones-style promo on X
- Chaotic scenes erupt at Lidl stores across France; units sell out in minutes, police called
- Third heatwave expected to begin, raising fears of further supermarket incidents
Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of the Leclerc chain, said his stores sold 700,000 fans in three weeks, a rise of almost 200 %. NielsenIQ data cited by Le Monde showed 680,000 fans sold in a single week, a 1,500 % increase year-on-year.
Online resale and price gouging
Within hours of the Lidl promotion, the same air-conditioner that cost €179 in store appeared on Leboncoin for €500 to €700. Several buyers admitted they had bought specifically to flip.
I bought it for myself, but when I heard on the news what it was reselling for, I repacked it straight away and put it up for sale. I can't afford to pass up such an opportunity. Too bad, I'll be hot…
Political backlash and the retailer's defence
MP Antoine Léaument (La France insoumise) accused Lidl of "organising the chaos for its own profit". MP Karl Olive (Renaissance) criticised a "lack of clear information on the stock actually available per store, which is hard to accept".
We are the first to deplore what happened. The orders for these cooling units were placed a year ago, last July. Nobody could have predicted then that we would have such an early heatwave in June and be faced with this demand.
Lidl's commercial director noted the appliances were listed among 200 other items in the catalogue. However, the night before the sale the chain had posted a Game of Thrones-style promotional video on X that appeared to anticipate a battle for the devices.
Health and new heat alert
The health agency warned that a third heatwave is expected to arrive from 6 July, raising fears of a repeat of the supermarket scenes and of further abusive resale. Many shoppers reported that online delivery dates for air-conditioners had slipped to January 2027.
