Though the Paris Metro smelled awful, at least it was not as congested as surface traffic, and they reached their destination after only a few stops. What people criticized was that the damned platforms had no station announcements. A moment of inattention and you would miss your stop, making it even worse than the London Underground.
Paris was already starting to warm up in June. According to the homeless, by July and August the carriages would be as hot as hell, and they would find somewhere else to live. Global warming was a worldwide problem related to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, residents of both Paris and London desperately wanted air conditioning installed in the Metro. England, which had been freezing cold in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was now hot enough to make gentlemen wear short sleeves. Yet the transit company would not install it. Fortunately, fountains were free, so parks were filled with people playing in the water to escape the summer heat.
Many houses in Paris and London were practically historical artifacts. When they had been designed, no space had been reserved for outdoor air-conditioning units. Just imagine the façades of the buildings lining the Champs-Élysées covered in AC units—no tourist would feel like taking pictures anymore. No tourists meant no tourism revenue, so unless someone came up with an ingenious way to hide the outdoor units, city hall would generally refuse approval.
Did you think that was the end of it? Think about the noise an air conditioner made when it was running. While you sat inside enjoying the cool air and eating ice cream, your neighbor next door had to endure not only the heat indoors but also the buzzing of your air conditioner. Hot weather made people irritable, so your neighbor would call the