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Millions in France are grappling with scorching heat, but Jean-Luc Eclercy-Deterpigny is not worried as his living room inside a former quarry offers refreshing refuge.<\/p>\n
“It feels like stepping inside a fridge,” said the 57-year-old former Parisian who moved to the village of Troo in the Loire Valley during the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n
Paris and large swathes of France are battling the latest in a string of heatwaves, whose increased frequency scientists have linked to man-made climate change.<\/p>\n
Eclercy-Deterpigny said he and his partner — the village’s new mayor — were “privileged” as their garden boasts access to a living room buried in the rock.<\/p>\n
“We can stay cool all day if necessary,” he added.<\/p>\n
Troo, a settlement of some 315 residents, includes whole homes and rooms in tunnels left behind by quarrying for tuffeau limestone to build the region’s houses and castles.<\/p>\n
People in the village live in or rent out some 11 homes entirely buried in the rock, while others have access to a cave room, according to the mayor’s office.<\/p>\n
Other such dwellings have been abandoned but could be lived in again.<\/p>\n
“If you look at the walls of a cave dwelling, there’s no insulation. It’s simply tuffeau stone,” Eclercy-Deterpigny said, adding it was also warm in winter.<\/p>\n
“In my view, it’s the best natural insulator we have today,” added the chairman of the Troo Tourism Association.<\/p>\n
– ‘Eco-friendly housing’ –<\/p>\n
Dominique Operon and his husband, Jean-Paul, left their poorly insulated Normandy cottage in 2022 to move in to their new home in Troo.<\/p>\n
Under the limestone ceiling of an airy living room dotted with plants, Operon picks up a thermometer indicating a temperature a dozen degrees lower than outdoors.<\/p>\n
Even as the heat outside soared above 30C, it remained a delicious 19C indoors.<\/p>\n
Here “you feel protected from the outdoor temperatures,” the 71-year old retiree said.<\/p>\n
“It’s a solution for eco-friendly housing,” he added.<\/p>\n
Troo counts between six and eight kilometres (around 3 to 5 miles) of tunnels, which could eventually allow for an increase in the number of cave dwellings, mayor Patrick Eclercy-Deterpigny said.<\/p>\n
The only downside is lack of sunlight, as any cave home not facing southwards can be very gloomy inside.<\/p>\n
Moving into a former quarry also comes with significant renovation works, including to lower and regulate humidity.<\/p>\n
New residents usually have to spend money on ventilation, water drainage and lime-based plastering of the walls.<\/p>\n
But these man-made caves could be “a model for future housing”, the mayor said.<\/p>\n
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