“Our house is burning down and we are looking the other way,” said Jacques Chirac during one of his prophetic visions … well, that was in a different time. Today, it is 2050, and France is dry. The Gulf Stream has disappeared, causing great climate upheaval in a country formerly known for its mildest of climates … The water tables are dropping, the country suffers scorching summers and Siberian winters on a yearly basis; experts from the hottest regions of the African continent are commissioned to help French farmers adapt …
People are learning to save water by washing with less than 5 litres, “Djibouti-style,” using the “jug iyo baldi” technique. A delegation from Djibouti is also the guest of honour at the great energy fair, on the theme of making good use of air conditioning units … This may seem ridiculous to us today, but when you see one, then two, then three “heatwaves” strike in the same year … that’s not a spell of freak weather – it’s a change in the climate that is settling in for the long-haul.
