Paris 2024 Olympic Village: Why don't all residents benefit from the same thermal comfort?

Despite temperatures reaching 40°C in the shade, 26-year-old Saad Alami went down to the foot of his student residence to cool off.

On the eighth floor of the brand new tower, her studio apartment faces due south. Although the shutter on the apartment's only window is closed, the heat is stifling, an AFP journalist observed.

"I bought a fan two days ago but it doesn't cool anything down," sighs the management student, finishing a cigarette in the street.

Having settled in Saint-Denis last autumn after growing up near the Arcachon basin, he says he "never imagined experiencing this".

Ground cooling

Just a few meters away, the experience of living in the "Olympic Games Heritage" district is radically different.

Met in the deserted street under a blazing sun, Tiphaine, who did not wish to give her name, mentions the "coolness" of the apartment she bought with her partner, in a building at the end of the alley.

The difference lies in the equipment: "Underfloor cooling, which was put into service a little over a week ago," explains the 28-year-old woman.

The result of this geothermal technology: on the sixth floor and despite direct sunlight, it is "25, 26°C at most", smiles Thiphaine, delighted with her apartment overlooking the Seine.

The interior designer nevertheless explains "be careful: we leave the shutters closed, we close them so as not to let the heat in".

Alan, 36, who moved into the neighboring building last month, shares the same observation. This technology isn't "magic either," the first-time buyer acknowledges, "but yes, you can feel that the floor is nice and cool: that's pleasant."

With shopping bags in hand and her forehead covered in sweat, Linda would love to see the temperature drop below 30°C in her apartment.

In her social housing, this 39-year-old woman, who also prefers to keep her last name private, relies on fans to get her children to sleep at night.

"From 6:00 am, I have to close everything so that the coolness lasts at least until noon," laments the nursery worker, a tenant of Plaine Commune Habitat.

She was unaware that her apartment was equipped with the same cooling system as her neighbors who owned the apartment.

System cut into social housing

In this iconic district where thousands of athletes were housed during the 2024 Olympic Games, Plaine Commune Habitat owns nearly 300 homes.

When announcing the handover of the keys in November, the social landlord boasted of the "environmental excellence model" of the residential complex, including "connection to urban heating and cooling networks".

In reality, in the buildings of the rental stock, this collective cooling system was switched off in the spring.

"Everything is switched off," a caretaker told AFP. "Originally, each tenant had their own thermostat, but it was centralized because heating consumption was crazy" this winter, added the employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

He knows perfectly well how hot the tenants are on the upper floors, but the Plaine Commune Habitat employee is panicking: "Can you imagine the charges if people put air conditioning on? It's already very expensive," he says.

Sofia Boutrih, who has been president of this landlord since June 2nd, "is discovering the situation with astonishment".

In her written message sent to AFP on Wednesday, the communist elected official deplores the choice of "the former (socialist) governance not to activate this system", specifying that there had been "no consultation with the tenants".

If a majority of them decide to do so, during a consultation held "as soon as possible", the underfloor cooling system will be activated, she adds.

The president of Plaine Commune Habitat points out that "the implementation of this system will unfortunately lead to an increase in charges to be paid by tenants".