Fire extinction !
As part of the city of Bordeaux's energy sobriety plan, a large part of the monuments and public buildings are now permanently switched off.
This is one of the most visible measures in the municipality's program to drastically reduce its energy consumption.
Emblematic of the city of Bordeaux, the Place de la Bourse and its Fountain of Three Graces will however remain lit until 11 p.m.
The same applies to the Grand Théâtre, the Town Hall, the cathedral, the three gates (Cailhau, Dijeaux and Burgundy), the Big Bell, the Saint-Michel basilica, the Chaban-Delmas bridge, the Place des Droits de l' 'Man, the monument to the Girondins and the rostral columns of the Place des Quinconces.
“
The silhouette of Bordeaux at night therefore remains more or less the same
”, specifies the town hall.
Economic and ecological advantages
Announced in September during a press conference by the environmentalist mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, this removal of public lighting from more than a hundred monuments is a first step in the sobriety plan.
The second, currently in progress, consists of turning off all the motors of illuminated billboards at night.
A decision that requires equipping each panel with a clock, to program its extinction at 11 p.m.
In addition, digital and animated advertisements are now prohibited, as is the installation of billboards within one hundred meters of an elementary school.
The third phase of these energy saving measures, scheduled for the month of January, is the reduction of public lighting.
It is already practiced by several municipalities in metropolitan France.
The less frequented streets, outside the hypercentre, will be turned off between one and five o'clock in the morning, "
to coincide with the tram timetables
", specifies the municipality.
This sobriety plan should allow the city to save nearly 2.6 million euros in 2023.
Read alsoEnergy crisis: what the government's sobriety plan contains
In addition, Bordeaux intends to increase its energy production, in particular through the development of geothermal energy and photovoltaic panels.
On September 16, Pierre Hurmic announced on Twitter that the city would achieve "
-20% electricity consumption for public lighting from 2023 and 41% energy autonomy
" by the end of his mandate, stating that "
the public services cannot depend on financial markets
”.
Reducing public lighting at night, and therefore light pollution, is not only beneficial financially.
It is also favorable to biodiversity and health.
Light pollution would indeed have harmful consequences, whether it concerns the health of city dwellers, bats or insects.