"Fifty calls a day": refrigeration technicians overwhelmed during heatwave

Mr. Boudjema, 32, a refrigeration engineer in Paris, arrived "already hot" in front of the Gustave Roussy hospital in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne), where the outside temperature reached 38°C on Tuesday.

"I'm working at least 16 hours a day right now," says the technician, who finished at 04:00 a.m. the day before.

The cancer center isn't usually one of his clients, but he's taking on new procedures "to meet the demand." As he takes the elevator, his phone keeps buzzing: "It's all day."

Danny Boudjema has to keep busy so as not to be late for his next assignments. The sun beats down on the roof where he climbs to inspect the machinery. The heat makes his work "more tiring." "It's rare that we're in the cold rooms."

The refrigerated display cases in the hospital staff cafeteria are malfunctioning. "It's complicated without them, because they keep sandwiches fresh. We feed 3.500 people here," explains Cyril Fourdrinier, manager of the hospital staff cafeteria.

Restaurants, "the most in a hurry"

With the heatwave France is experiencing, other refrigeration engineers are seeing increased demand. "It's exploding. I get more than 50 calls a day for repairs, quotes..." says José (he declined to give his last name), 40, also a refrigeration engineer in Paris.

"Restaurants are in the biggest rush," notes the professional. "They have valuable merchandise. They're putting on the pressure, they want an emergency solution the same day."

"They harass us when the cold room breaks down," confirms Dany Boudjema, understanding: "without cold, we can't preserve food."

The refrigeration engineer is just heading off to his next appointment: the refrigerated display case of a butcher's shop in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine) which is no longer working.

On the road, he gets angry: "I know very well that my client, whom I'm going to see, hasn't done enough maintenance." For the professional, lack of maintenance is the main cause of air conditioning and refrigeration breakdowns in the summer.

"This is the time when everyone wakes up at the same time. When the machine is dirty, it suffers as soon as it gets hot," says José.

The temperature is high in the Suresnes butcher's shop when Mr. Boudjema arrives. "As soon as it gets hot, things suffer. And then we could lose some of our merchandise," says Mohammed, the manager, who had been pressing the refrigeration engineer by phone a few minutes earlier.

Demand for air conditioning is exploding

The refrigeration sector, which in 2022 comprised nearly 14.000 companies in France, is also in demand for installing air conditioning in businesses and homes.

Faced with this heatwave, requests for installation are exploding.

Engie Home Services, a specialist in energy equipment, told AFP that it had seen a significant increase in the number of quote requests in recent weeks.

The group recorded 8.374 applications in June 2025, compared to 2.931 in the same month last year.

"Personal air conditioning has exploded. The heatwave causes a spike in demand," agrees Dany Boudjema. According to him, with warmer temperatures in the future, his customers will have to be "patient." "I have work scheduled every day until the beginning of October."