Less light in Paris

It's going to be darker in Paris next time you're trying to find your way back to the hotel in the wee hours.  The Ministry of Ecology has just started implementing regulations limiting nighttime lighting.  Generally, the new rules require non-residential buildings to turn off all outside lights by 1 a.m. at the latest.  This applies to both public and privately-owned buildings.  So no more window shopping after 1 a.m.; no more brightly-lit public monuments as landmarks on the way home.

It may not be the most dramatic energy conservation measure, but the Ministry expects these lighting rules to produce significant savings.  Nationally it projects they'll cut annual electricity consumption by about 2 terawatt hours, or the equivalent of annual electricity consumption by 750,000 households.  Besides energy savings, it should reduce risks for nighttime migratory birds.  Lit-up buildings confuse and attract birds flying overhead.  Often, in cities everywhere, part of a janitor's early morning work is picking up dead birds that smacked into a building's windows or glass exterior during the night.

Still, if you're worried about France rolling up the sidewalks and turning into Omaha, you should know that the rules provide for exceptions.  The country is well-aware of what it owes to tourists.  Several parts of Paris, including the Champs-Elysées, Montmartre, the rue de Rivoli, and the Place des Vosges, can leave the lights on.  This is also true for parts of cities like Nice and Marseille and Lyon.  But now, at least when you get back to your small hotel on a side street, that neon light above the garage across the way that flashed all night long through the window, should be dark.