The death toll per heat wave can easily hit 5 figures in just france. A hybrid portable-minisplit that will cool a 100m^2 apartment is under a thousand euros, and draw just under a Mwh per year. A portable to cool one small bedroom is much less power-efficient, but can often be found between 200 and 300. That's not cheap, per se, but funerals aren't much less expensive in Europe than in America. Many EU countries allow some limited cooling in public buildings, but I still sweat in most grocery stores, malls, libraries, museums, etc. during hot weather--they just don't take air conditioning to a comfortable temperature as worth the power bill, the way America does.
Paris is working on some type of underground cooled-water network for AC in industrial settings.
https://56paris.com/en/cooling-paris-from-below-the-city-s-u...
Why are ACs so expensive in Europe? A window AC can be had from Walmart for like $120.
Yeah, it makes sense to get it and they'll have it eventually. It's a cultural shift as much as anything, it will take time.
The cooler parts of the US (e.g. the PNW) are also gradually increasing AC adoption as things heat up, but 20 years ago it was pretty much unheard of.