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French city to stop lighting up public buildings in order to save energy

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French city to stop lighting up public buildings in order to save energy
A picture taken on November 8, 2014 shows the grand place of Lille. AFP PHOTO/DENIS CHARLET (Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP)

Local authorities in northern France have announced that they will stop lighting up public buildings at night, in an attempt to reduce energy consumption.

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In an effort to conserve energy, the city of Lille will stop lighting public buildings at night, except for the two emblematic squares in the city centre. 

Socialist mayor Martine Aubry made the announcement on France Bleu Nord on Friday. 

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"We will turn off the lights in the city at night except in the Grand'Place and the Place de l'Opéra," explained the mayor.

She added on Twitter that this step is the first announcement of the city's 'energy sobriety' plan, and that the full plan would be announced in the coming days. 

In addition to the lights of public buildings being switched off, some fountains in the city will also be taken out of service in an attempt to water and reduce energy consumption. 

According to the mayor, the plan stands to save over 170,000 KW worth of the city's annual energy consumption.

Public building lights will be switched off starting Monday, September 5th, but street lights will remain on.

The mayor also highlighted in her statement that the electrical consumption of lighting in Lille has been steadily reduced since 2004, in part thanks to an optimisation of power which involves dimming public lights by 30 percent between the hours of midnight and 6am.

Aubry's announcement came as French President Emmanuel Macron convened the first meeting of the Energy Defence Council, which is set to review and respond to the country's gas and electricity supply - including the risk of shortages - ahead of winter 2022.

All branches of government will be expected to make savings, while businesses are asked to prepare their own energy-saving plans by the end of September - it is expected that energy-saving measures for households will be voluntary.

The full government plan - which aims to cut France's energy consumption by 10 percent in two years - is expected in October. 

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