According to the International Energy Agency, over the next three decades, the use of air conditioners is set to soar, becoming one of the top drivers of global electricity demand. In France, as summer heatwaves become more frequent, the residential air conditioners installation rate doubled in the last ten years, bringing the total share of equipped dwellings to 25 % in 2021. To tackle the increase in energy consumption and changes in seasonality that could result from this trend in the future, we need a better understanding of current cooling practices. So far in this country, while heating consumption in winter caught all the light, little was known of energy consumption in summer. This paper offers an analysis of French households’ summer cooling practices based on a unique representative survey of 8,000 households, asked about their building and equipment, comfort, everyday natural ventilation and shading actions, and cooling appliances usage. We show how the diversity of summer comfort and temperature perception depends on building features, location, and heat waves. Natural cooling is still more frequent than the use of air conditioners. During summer 2021, most people regularly opened windows in the night and morning, and closed shutters in the middle of the day, while only half of the households with air conditioners used them in addition to natural cooling. Air conditioners use rates and set temperatures depend on comfort perception and the types of cooling equipment. Air conditioning is mostly occasional and space specific, as opposed to the norm of constant cooling that can be found in other parts of the world. Altogether, this detailed description of current cooling practices, their interactions and drivers, allow to anticipate a limited rise of this demand, shall people keep on their natural ventilation and shading actions.