Lidl's sales campaign to sell 200.000 air conditioners and fans caused significant disruption Thursday morning in several French stores. With another heatwave approaching and these appliances proving difficult to find, many customers arrived before the stores opened, leading to long queues and chaotic scenes.
In Nanterre, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, the situation quickly deteriorated. Videos circulating on social media show a dense crowd pushing through the store doors as soon as they opened, some even giving way under pressure. According to a journalist on the scene, around a hundred people had been waiting for several hours for only about ten air conditioners available.
Tensions in several stores
Similar scenes were observed elsewhere in France. Some customers reported arriving in the middle of the night, sometimes as early as 1 a.m., equipped with camping chairs to wait until opening time. Other accounts described long queues forming before dawn outside several stores.
Social media also circulated images of pushing and shoving and arguing over the last remaining fans. This rush illustrates the high demand for cooling equipment as another heatwave approaches, in a context where stocks remain limited in many stores.
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