France: The government forces shops to close their doors

The French government imposes a closed-door policy on stores to save energy. The Minister of Energy Transition of France Anies Panier-Runaser announced the issuance of decrees that would force air-conditioned shops to close their doors and provide for the reduction of illuminated advertisements to save energy.

“In the coming days I will issue two decrees: the first will generalize the ban on billboards, regardless of the size of the city, between 01.00 and 06.00″, with the exception of airports and railway stations, and the second will prohibit shops from they have the doors open when the air conditioning and heating will work,” the minister told the Journal du Dimanche (JDD).

Open doors means “20% more consumption… it’s absurd” he said characteristically.

Some French cities such as Lyon, Besançon and Paris have issued municipal decrees since mid-July, when France was hit by a heat wave, requiring air-conditioned shops to close their doors on pain of fines.

The French government intends to generalize the ban to the entire country, with a foreseen fine of 750 euros. Initially, however, the effort will focus on informing shopkeepers.
Until today, illuminated advertising is prohibited between 01.00 and 06.00 in cities with a population of less than 800,000 inhabitants. In larger cities the rules depend on the local regulatory framework, if any.

RES-EMP

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