As France is experiencing its hottest summer ever, la canicule (the heat wave) is the word on everyone’s lips. Many people wish they had air conditioning at home instead of having to take refuge in cooler public spaces. In this lesson, we'll find out what the French have to say about this hot weather and how they are coping.

La canicule (the heatwave), which started in early June 2026, is wreaking havoc on people’s health:

L'intense canicule qui frappe la France depuis une semaine... impacte directement notre santé et notre sommeil.

The intense heat wave that has been hitting France for a week... directly impacts our health and our sleep.

Captions 1, 4, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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As people complain bitterly about the heat, you will hear the very common expression avoir chaud (to be hot), as in j’ai chaud (I'm hot; literally, "I have heat"). This speaker adds an adverb, tellement chaud (so hot), for good measure:

J'ai tellement chaud.

I'm so hot.

Caption 2, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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Further along in the video, another person complains about being “too hot,” using the adverb trop:

J'ai trop, trop chaud.

I'm way too hot.

Caption 38, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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Both speakers used the verb avoir (to have) and said j’ai chaud (I’m hot)—NOT je suis chaud, which carries a sexual connotation in colloquial French.

However, it is safe to use être (to be) in the expression c’est chaud (it’s hot) to describe anything besides the temperature. A burning hot coal, for example:

Ouille là, c'est chaud, là!

Ouch, that's hot, there!

Caption 2, Il était une fois: Les Amériques 1. Les premiers Américains - Part 5

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On a side note, c’est chaud can also be used to describe a “heated situation,” as in “a bad situation,” in colloquial French. 

La guerre de Syrie et tout ça, c'est... Bon, c'est... c'est chaud.

The war in Syria and all that, it's... Well, it's... it's hot [bad].

Caption 46, Micro-Trottoirs Macron, fais pas l'autruche !

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For additional meanings of c’est chaud, click here.

But you can't use c'est chaud when talking about the weather. You have to use a different impersonal expression, il fait chaud:

Je pense que vous l'avez remarqué: il fait chaud !

I think you've noticed it: it's hot!

Caption 1, Le Huffington Post Canicule ou vague de chaleur, comment faire la différence ?

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You can also use the impersonal il fait to talk about the specific temperature. Just say il fait + X degrés (make sure to use Celsius, not Fahrenheit!):

Il fait quarante degrés.

It's forty degrees.

Caption 6, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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As you may have noticed in all the expressions above, chaud (hot) never changes as it works as an adverb. However, when used as an adjective, chaud has to agree in gender and number, as in la journée la plus chaude (the hottest day):

Et ce mercredi vingt-quatre juin est devenu la journée la plus chaude jamais enregistrée dans le pays,

And this Wednesday, June twenty-fourth became the hottest day ever recorded in the country,

Captions 24-25, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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The noun form of chaud/chaude is la chaleur (the heat):

En fait, cette chaleur, mais, euh... en fait c'est la canicule, hein ?

In fact, this heat, but, uh... in fact, it's a heat wave, huh?

Captions 4-5, Sophie et Patrice La chaleur

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Speaking of la chaleur (the heat), heat waves are a relatively new phenomenon in Europe, so most French homes n'ont pas de clim (don't have AC) yet. La clim (AC) is short for la climatisation (air conditioning).

Et évidemment dans nos appartements on n'a pas la clim.

And obviously in our apartments we don't have AC.

Captions 31-32, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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One solution is to spend the night in the comfort of un hôtel climatisé (an air-conditioned hotel):

Réserver une chambre d'hôtel climatisée pour passer la nuit.

Book an air-conditioned hotel room to spend the night.

Captions 88-89, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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Alternatively, there is a cheaper way to cool off—taking refuge in air-conditioned shopping malls:

C'est rafraîchissant, oui.

It's refreshing, yes.

Caption 58, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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It may be crowded, but it's much better than étouffer (suffocating) at home…

J'ai commencé à sentir que j'étouffais un peu et...

I started to feel like I was suffocating a bit and...

Caption 68, Le Parisien Canicule : fatigue et sautes d'humeur

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Now that you've acquired some new vocabulary and mastered the differences between il fait chaud (it's hot out), j'ai chaud (I'm hot), and c'est chaud (something is hot), you are all set to discuss the weather in French. Stay cool and thank you for reading!

Attitudes toward money are deeply tied to the culture, values, and history of a country. While in some cultures, money is an open topic of conversation, in France, it is often seen as taboo. In her videos The Most Taboo Question in France, Nelly explains the reasons behind French people’s reluctance to talk about money. 

As Nelly explains, l’argent (money) is un tabou (taboo) in France: 

Et je vais t'expliquer dans cette vidéo pourquoi l'argent est un tabou chez nous les Français alors que nous n'avons pas beaucoup de tabous.

And I'm going to explain to you in this video why money is a taboo among us French people, even though we don't have many taboos.

Captions 20-22, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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Nelly mentions several reasons for this. Here is the first one:

La première, c'est que l'argent est symbole d'inégalité.

The first is that money is a symbol of inequality.

Captions 38-39, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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Indeed, l’égalité (equality) is highly valued in France:

Or l'égalité est une valeur très importante dans notre république.

Now, equality is a very important value in our republic.

Captions 40-41, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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After all, Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) is the national motto of the French Republic. This motto, which represents core republican values, is inscribed on French coins and on public buildings:  

D'où la devise Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.

Hence the motto Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

Caption 42, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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These values have been firmly entrenched since the 1789 French Revolution, a time when French people fought for equality and sought to redress the injustice of la richesse (riches/wealth) concentrating in too few hands: 

Le peuple en avait marre. Il était lassé d'être dominé par la noblesse qui était beaucoup trop attachée aux richesses alors que le peuple avait faim.

The people were fed up. They were tired of being dominated by the nobility, who were far too attached to riches while the people were hungry.

Captions 57-60, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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This explains why French people prefer not to flaunt their wealth, lest it create jealousy:

Les personnes qui ont de l'argent préfèrent ne pas s'en vanter, ne pas dire qu'elles ont de l'argent pour ne pas créer de jalousie.

People who have money prefer not to boast about it, not to say that they have money so as not to create jealousy.

Captions 72-75, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 1

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The second reason why people don’t like to étaler leur richesse (flaunt their wealth) is the influence of religion, which encourages la modestie (modesty):

Et une des valeurs de la religion catholique, c'est la modestie.

And one of the values of the Catholic religion is modesty.

Captions 6-7, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 2

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N'étale pas tes richesses.

Don't flaunt your wealth.

Caption 9, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 2

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The third reason is linked to un système éducatif (an education system) that is designed to offer equal opportunities for all:

Notre système éducatif en France est fait pour donner la même chance à tout le monde et gommer les inégalités.

Our educational system in France is designed to give everyone the same opportunity and wipe out inequalities.

Captions 15-17, Français avec Nelly The Most Taboo Question in France - Part 2

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Finally, here is an old French adage that encompasses traditional attitudes about money:

L’argent ne fait pas le bonheur. 

Money doesn’t buy happiness. 

And yet, some French people, like Isabelle in this video, play des jeux de grattage (scratch-off games) religiously:

Alors à chaque fois qu'un nouveau jeu de grattage apparaissait, elle devait l'essayer.

So every time a new scratch-off game came out, she had to try it.

Captions 3-4, Mère & Fille L'argent ne fait pas le bonheur

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Barbara asks her mother what she would do with tout cet argent (all that money):

Ah ouais ? Et si tu gagnes, tu vas faire quoi de tout cet argent ?

Oh yeah? And if you win, what are you going to do with all that money?

Captions 5-6, Mère & Fille L'argent ne fait pas le bonheur

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So while it is not good form to discuss money in France, it is perfectly fine to ask someone what they would do if they won the lottery!