"I lined up from 4 a.m." France rushes to buy a 310,000-won air conditioner as heatwave warnings loom

[Financial News] As Europe has recently been hit by record-breaking heat, people have flocked to a major discount supermarket in France after news spread that it would sell air conditioners and fans in large quantities at low prices.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other foreign media outlets, Lidl sold a total of 200,000 cooling devices, including air conditioners and fans, at multiple stores across France on the 2nd local time.
With another heatwave forecast across France after this weekend, crowds began gathering at stores from early morning after word spread that air conditioners, which usually cost at least several hundred euros, could be bought for just 179 euros, or about 310,000 won.
Trouble began when rumors started circulating that each store had only one or two air conditioners available. Although the rumor was unconfirmed, people who had been waiting since early morning for the supermarket to open grew angry. After the store opened, the scene reportedly turned chaotic, with scuffles and shouting as customers fought to get the air conditioners.
Moussa Traore, who waited more than an hour to buy an air conditioner that day, said he had been told there were only two units for sale and raised suspicions to AFP, saying, "The police came and said there was no more stock. I think the officers may have taken them."
Those suspicions were further fueled by accounts such as one from a customer who said he had lined up from 4 a.m. for seven hours only to finally buy an air conditioner, and another from someone who waited six hours as number three in line but could only buy a fan instead.
Tensions also rose, and police were called, after some people tried to hoard multiple fans or cut in line. Customers who had lined up to buy air conditioners reportedly lashed out at the supermarket, saying its advertising had been misleading.
Air conditioner ownership remains relatively low in Europe, but demand for cooling devices has surged as heatwaves have become more frequent. In France, an Ipsos poll released early last month found that 78% of respondents said air conditioners are harmful to the environment. Still, sales have been soaring amid a heatwave that has lasted for more than 10 days.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter