Europe

I'll admit, I'm North American wading into French politics.

That said, don't let the right control the floor on that issue. It's not a good hill to die on, people will have to get AC if it's hitting mid 40s. AC can be offset with solar panels if necessary. Cities should be greened, and other eco friendly cooling solutions also implemented.

Save those hills for stuff that is truly needed. Climate change is gonna wallop the world no matter what, but that goodwill should be saved for things like restricting cars, burning hydrocarbons, restricting plastics, etc.

Is this real? Is this another case of "whatever those people say I will oppose"?

The right wing's interest in this seems to be climate-change-denialism - or at least the opposition to "green policies" that the right seem to have latched onto. I suppose it's a cheap way to get people riled up and angry with current government policies because no-one who's paying attention can surely think that the likes of Marine Le Pen or Nigel Farage would really make government less intrusive or authoritarian if they were to ever get any real power.

I'm not sure what the solution is, when so many of the electorate are so prone to emotional manipulation such as this. Trying to second guess what the right are going to jump on next is surely a fool's errand, as it's much easier for the Le Pens and Farages to spout off new rhetoric at a rally than it is for incumbent governments to change policy.

The only real solution is for the electorate to become better able to think critically and more able to assess issues rationally and holistically. What chance is there of that ever happening?