Paris to turn off city hall lights as part of ‘energy sobriety’

MOSCOW, September 13 – PRIME. The illumination of a number of administrative buildings in Paris will stop working after 10 pm to save energy, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.

“We need to accelerate. It is because we are now facing a crisis and a significant increase in energy prices that we need to accelerate the environmental and energy transformation in the city,” she said.

As broadcast by BFMTV, the mayor of Paris has introduced a number of measures to save energy. Thus, the illumination of the Paris City Hall, the Saint-Jacques Tower, the city halls of the Parisian districts and a number of city museums will be turned off at 10 pm, starting from September 23. The lights of the Eiffel Tower will be extinguished at 23:45, with the end of visiting hours. Street lights will remain on throughout the night for safety reasons, but their brightness will also be reduced. Also, the city authorities decided to lower the temperature in city institutions, except for kindergartens and nursing homes, to 18 degrees during the day and 12 degrees at night.

Hidalgo stressed that all energy saving issues are discussed “with all economic actors.”

According to her, Paris needs state support so that investment in urban projects does not stop. She also urged the government to turn off the lights in administrative buildings.

This summer, the French government launched an “energy sobriety” program with the goal of reducing electricity consumption by ten percent to avoid shortages in the coming winter. The authorities called on businesses and transport companies to submit specific plans to reduce energy consumption. Some French companies, including two major glassmakers Duralex and Arc, said they had already reduced production volumes and transferred a number of employees to part-time work. Also, due to increased energy bills in the metropolis, about 30 swimming pools have stopped working, including the Pailleron, the largest sports complex in Paris.