TROO: 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.

“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.

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.

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.

“We can stay cool all day if necessary,” he added.

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.

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.

Other such dwellings have been abandoned but could be lived in again.

“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.

“In my view, it’s the best natural insulator we have today,” added the chairman of the Troo Tourism Association.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026