La ville lumière is turning off the lights. Just a little bit.
The Eiffel Tower will turn off its flashing lights one hour earlier than usual, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced on Tuesday. This symbolic measure is part of a broader energy-saving plan as the city is bracing for rising energy costs.
The lights on the iconic tower will turn off at 11:45 p.m. instead of 1 a.m. However, the change will be mostly symbolic: The hourly light flashes are already fairly efficient, and only account for 4 percent of the monument’s energy bill, according to its operator.
Other measures will be more impactful. Heating in city-managed buildings will be lowered from 19 to 18 degrees Celsius, except in nurseries and care homes for the elderly. It will also start a month later than usual. Public pools are also losing a degree down to 26 degrees Celsius. Some public pools in Paris and other French cities had already been shut down by a private contractor because of rising prices. Lighting of public monuments will also be turned down at 10 p.m., although street lights will remain on.
Hidalgo is hoping to cut gas and electricity costs by 10 percent, or about 67 gigawatt-hours. Paris’ efforts are part of a broader movement of cities across Europe trying to cut down on energy, most of them starting with late-night street lighting.