REPORTAGE – The illuminated advertisements went out at 11:45 p.m. this Thursday in Paris. On the Champs-Élysées, this measure for energy sobriety pales in comparison to the large number of very well-lit store signs.
Nothing seems different on this Thursday, December 1, 11:45 p.m. sharp, on the Champs-Élysées. And yet, as promised by the City of Paris, the illuminated advertisements on billboards have just been extinguished with the aim of energy sobriety. And this, until 6 o’clock in the morning.
But, it is undeniable, this extinction did not provoke any reaction among tourists who walk the famous avenue. Wrapped in their coats and scarves, they brave the Parisian cold and enjoy their walk, indifferent. No one paid any attention to the change in ambient light. “I didn’t notice anythingconfirms a couple of tourists from Saudi Arabia.
The extinction of these billboards, operated by Clear Channel and a private operator of the town hall of Paris, indeed seems very modest compared to the bright windows of the major fashion and car brands that follow one another on this shopping street. While since November 1, illuminated advertising in shop windows must be extinguished as soon as they close, most shops compete in the use of light spots. The avenue remains bathed in their lights.
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Coats, dresses, cars, sporting goods… Passers-by cannot miss the slightest detail of the contents of each of these shops lit as if it were broad daylight. A pleasure for some tourists, who pose in front of the windows to bring back some souvenirs from their night walk. “Look how beautiful», enthuses a young Dutch tourist with her companion, in front of a famous clothing store whose frontage surpasses itself in decoration.
And yet, a merchant who does not respect this measure can receive a fine ranging from 750 to 1500 euros and even 3000 euros in the event of a repeat offense. A risk that does not seem to deter the owners of a number of Parisian stores.
At the top of this legendary avenue stands the Arc de Triomphe, also still lit up as midnight strikes. It is an exception among Parisian monuments such as the Eiffel Tower or the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Paris which, when turned off, blend in with the night. The Paris City Hall, the Saint-Jacques tower, the municipal museums and the district town halls have, in fact, ceased to be lit at 10:00 p.m. since September 23 due to the energy crisis. The Eiffel Tower now turns off when the last visitor leaves, at 11:45 p.m.
Christmas lights shortened by a week
The Christmas lights, covering in particular the trees of the avenue des Champs-Élysées with golden and sparkling blue garlands, did indeed go out at 11:45 p.m. as planned. They will be in place for six weeks instead of seven, from November 20 to January 2, 2023 inclusive. The Champs-Élysées Committee had announced that the decision to reduce the amplitude of the illuminations for a week would make it possible to achieve 44% energy savings over the period.
The avenue des Champs-Élysées is not particularly distinguished by its disobedience since throughout the city of Paris, many storefronts are lit with a thousand lights and are just waiting to be watched. Furniture shops, watch shops, and many others unveil their products in the ocher light of dozens of light spots.
But then strikes one o’clock in the morning, and it is the turn of the Morris columns, the advertising panels of the press kiosks or the passenger shelters to go out in the night. This Parisian decision precedes a government decree published in early October which provides for extinction throughout the territory from June 1, 2023.
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Despite small omissions or slight delays, this measure seems to have been respected. But, once again, the impact on the luminosity in the streets of Paris remains very weak. “I hadn’t even realized it. At the same time, it is not very visible“, says Deborah, a 32-year-old Parisian, sitting at a bus stop sheltered from the cold just in front of the Paris Opera, also draped in her nightgown.
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