After the invention, or rather the democratization, of the electric lamp by Thomas, cities led a frantic race in terms of public lighting. Street lamps are thus still part of their characteristic elements to this day.
However, in recent decades, some of these cities have become aware of the harmful effects of public lighting on the environment. More and more of them are turning off their street lights for part of the night.
A trend that becomes more widespread between midnight and 4 a.m.
Saint-Nazaire was one of the French towns that was the first to switch off its street lights at night in 2018. At the time, local leaders did not think that this practice would become widespread.
However, currently, more and more municipalities are resorting to it . In Vienne, for example, 240 municipalities decided to cut off the lights at night. So, only 20 municipalities in the department have not taken the plunge.
Many other French cities have also followed in Saint-Nazaire's footsteps more recently. This is notably the case of:
- Chambery,
- Nevers,
- Colmar,
- Metz
This is therefore not a singular initiative. According to Ademe, it would already have been adopted in 2021 by 40% of municipalities in mainland France .
However, change has not come easily. And this is all the more true in large cities like Strasbourg. The community of the most European city in France has indeed been thinking about the issue since 2015, but only really managed to take the plunge in March 2022.
This is normal, because even if the municipal council has every right to press the switch or not, it is always necessary to carefully consider the needs of users .
While, for example, the night-time extinction of residential buildings will not be badly experienced, the same will not be true on the boulevards lined with busy parks and gardens in the city centre.
And it is after taking these needs into account that local authorities will have to decide on the schedule for switching off or reducing public lighting. However, it must be acknowledged that in more than 70% of French cities that use it, switching off often takes place between midnight and 4 a.m.
Economic and ecological advantages
But what motivated such initiatives? The imperative to save energy first of all. The war in Ukraine made us realize how dependent we still are on the outside in terms of energy .
Of course, unlike Kiev, Mykolaev, Kherson and Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are not going to celebrate St. Nicholas in the dark. However, since our stock may not be enough to meet our needs in the coming years, energy saving is more than a necessity in all French localities .
And this involves turning off street lights for part of the night, as public lighting represents 32% of the electricity budget of local authorities according to the Eco Maires association.
Turning off the street lights in our cities also allows us to enjoy benefits other than financial ones. It is also a way to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity . Indeed, not all living beings are diurnal like us. 30% of vertebrates and 60% of invertebrates are in fact partly or entirely active at night.
So, if they live in an environment where everything is bright both day and night, compromises on their biological rhythm will be inevitable. Bats are a better example. Plants can also be affected by such problems in case of long exposure to artificial light at night.
What about security?
If many localities hesitate to adopt this essential transition, it is mainly because of the security concerns surrounding it. It must be recognized that 91% of French people still see public lighting as an effective means of securing their travel, their person and their property.
Let's recognize that since the invention of the first electric lamps, the crime rate in many cities has continued to increase. Contrary to what many people think, moreover, it is during the day that there are more burglaries in France (80% compared to 20% at night).
And to further change our perceptions of the link between lighting and security, the city of Saint-Nazaire recently announced that the local police did not need to intervene further during the 4 years it implemented the night-time extinction of its street lights.
However, this should not be enough to persuade the most sceptical cities. Some even prefer to renovate their lighting systems by relying on more energy-efficient devices rather than switching off the lights at night.
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