SHOPPERS desperate to get their hands on air con units ahead of this week’s heatwave in France have been filmed brawling in the aisles.
Huge crowds of frantic Lidl customers piled into the discount supermarket after forcing open the doors and quickly got their elbows out as they made a beeline for the fans.
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Huge brawls broke out in Lidl as France continues to battle with a heatwave Credit: X/oumse-dia
Huge crowds of frantic Lidl shoppers piled into the discount supermarket after forcing open the doorsCredit: X
The shoppers made a beeline for the air con unit aisle Credit: X
Sweaty shoppers were filmed barging into the store and clambering over one another Credit: TikTok/@www.tiktok.salamat77
Lidl promised to stock its shelves with 200,000 fans and aircon units on Thursday as Europe braces for more heat this weekend.
But shocking footage filmed inside the store shows fists flying as customers try to get their hands on the limited supply of cooling devices.
Some had been queuing outside for hours in preparation for a dash to the shelves.
The hot and bothered shoppers were also filmed stampeding through the front door before stripping the shelves in seconds.
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One video shows three men pushing, shoving and swinging at one another in a fight for a coveted fan.
Another shows a woman giving a competitor a particularly nasty beatdown at the shop entrance before a male shopper separates them.
Customers could also be heard screaming during their mid-aisle scuffles.
Police were reportedly forced to intervene during the fights as France prepares for temperatures of up to 37C this weekend.
A huge surge to get in the store saw thousands burst through Credit: X
Large crowds of Lidl customers fought to get their hands on a limited supply of aircon units Credit: X
Promises of stocked shelves appeared to be empty as many shops experienced a shortage of stocks.
At a supermarket in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the air conditioners were removed in just moments.
Tensions were already flaring in the early hours of the morning as a long queue developed outside its Lidl.
Fists were flying as customers fought over the last remaining boxes and those arriving as early as at 8.30am went home empty-handed.
Haissam, a resident of Carrières-sous-Poissy, told Le Parisien: “It’s ridiculous, people have gone completely mad.”
Europe is now bracing for a second heatwave as red weather warnings move through the continent.
It comes just days after high temperatures caused hundreds of deaths.
For Western Europe, where sweltering conditions have eased, heat is likely to build again next week.
Red heat warnings are now in place across 25 of 27 cities in Italy, from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the island of Sicily in the south.
The extreme weather warning has also blanketed Croatia, with alerts covering the capital Zagreb and tourist hot-spots Dubrovnik and Split.
On Monday, dozens of firefighters and four aircraft battled a wildfire on the tourist island of Vis – 55km southwest of Split.
In neighbouring Serbia temperatures could climb up to 39C, the State Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) said on Tuesday.
And the Canary Islands are set for more intense summer weather over the coming days.
Temperatures are forecast to sail past 30C, accompanied by strong winds.
Gran Canaria will take the brunt of the heatwave reaching up to 40C, according to forecasts from AEMET.
Britain has also been warned of a second incoming heatwave with temperatures reaching a peak of 33C.
Europe was rocked by an initial heatwave that began on June 20, spiking temperatures to record-breaking levels.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the country’s health emergency response plan, ORSAN, will remain at its highest level.
Lecornu said it comes in preparation for “a possible recurrence of a heatwave episode”.
The meteorological institute expects temperatures to be “very high again, probably above 35C” from Friday onwards across the country.
France, which endured its hottest day on record on Wednesday, blamed high temperatures for 1,000 excess deaths last week.
