Carnage has erupted in France as people fight over air-con units ahead of this weekend's heatwave, with huge crowds forcing open supermarket doors to grab fans.

Consumers in Paris besiege Lidl supermarkets for low-cost cooling units, leading to long queues and brawls.

Police were called to supermarkets in the Paris area on Thursday as huge crowds descended on discount stores hoping to get hold of affordable air-cooling units before the third…