Paris climate activists have found a new way to get across their message against energy waste in the City of Light -- switching off store signs and advertising screens that are kept on all night even though the government has urged people to cut back electricity use.
Extinction Rebellion is one of a new wave of environmental campaigners using direct action and civil disobedience to draw attention to their cause.
Some of its members glued themselves to sports cars Friday evening at the Mondial de l'Auto, a major car show in Paris.
"They are denouncing a polluting industry that is trying to 'greenwash' its image with the help of 'green' vehicles, but which continues to promote individual car ownership as the transport of the future," said a statement from the group.
At 9.00pm on a recent evening, around 20 Extinction Rebellion members gathered for a tactical briefing before spreading out on a night-time raid.
"There are 12 million people going cold in France because they can't heat their homes, and on the other hand we're wasting this energy on advertising signs that are completely useless consumption," Joad, a 32-year-old veteran of the movement tells AFP.
After distributing posters and equipment, including telescopic poles to reach switches for outdoor lights, Joad's team heads for the lively Marais district, a magnet for both Parisians and tourists, where dozens of retailers have outlets.
If the police spot them "we absolutely don't run", Joad says, detailing out the legal risks and advice for those who might be arrested.
'This isn't Versailles!'
Click, and off goes a Levi's sign. On other storefronts, the group tapes up posters saying "This isn't Versailles!" -- the scolding heard by generations of French children when they leave lights on needlessly.
The team targets opticians, jewellers, perfume boutiques and mattress stores as well as the numerous luminous billboards, prising open the frames to switch them off and replace ads with their own posters.
Dans la soirée du 15 octobre, des membres d'@XRLille
— C'EST PAS VERSAILLES ICI ! (@campagne_cpvi) October 19, 2022
ont participé à l’opération «Rallumons les étoiles».
🔌 une 30aine de vitrines éteintes
🗒️ des affiches de sensibilisation collées
🤸 des extinctions acrobatiques#CestPasVersaillesIci #ExtinctionRebellion #Sobriété @xrFrance pic.twitter.com/fHNOxGEmNZ
The government, under pressure as Russia crimps gas exports to Europe, has urged people to show energy "restraint" as winter approaches, notably by lowering home heating thermostats to 19 degrees Celsius.
It has also issued a decree that illuminated signs and publicity must be turned off from 1.00am to 6.00am, starting in June 2023.
The city authorities in Paris have gone further, ordering lights out for signs and advertising from 11.45pm to 6.00am from December.
For the climate activists, that's not soon enough.
Government's 'double-speak'
"We know this is very symbolic because electricity used by illuminated signs is only a tiny fraction of the energy the country uses," said "Pikou," a 36-year-old who also used a pseudonym.
The bigger problem, for Pikou, is the government's "double-speak".
"What makes me angry, and that's why I'm here tonight, is that the government asks ordinary people for restraint, with little gestures like turning their heating down or turning off Wi-Fi, but it doesn't have the political courage to ask for the same restraint from businesses," he said.
As the activists progress along the winding Marais streets, their actions often garner applause from passers-by.
"I completely agree with them," says Federica, a tourist from Milan. Anna, who also stops to watch, calls the illuminated signs "a disgrace".
One store in particular draws the activists' ire. It is a clothing boutique vaunting its environmental credentials with the slogan "Because there is no Planet B", alongside three large advertising screens.
The screens are quickly covered with posters.
"This is phase one. It's about raising awareness and prevention," says Joad, adding that some store owners respond with messages of support and promises to turn the lights off.
"For those who keep the lights on and continue this wastage, we'll advance to phase two, which will be a bit bolder, starting in December."
(with AFP)
