Eiffel Tower to contribute to battle against energy crisis

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will reportedly insist on reducing illumination hours at the city landmark

The mayor of Paris is expected to curb the use of lighting at the Eiffel Tower as part of the French capital’s energy saving measures, amid soaring fuel costs and an EU-wide cost of living crisis. 

Mayor Anne Hidalgo will present her plan for cutting energy consumption early next week, French magazine Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Saturday.

The package reportedly includes switching off the 336 projectors that give the pre-eminent symbol of Paris and of France its landmark golden glow at night, 75 minutes earlier than usual. The 330-meter-high tower is expected to go dark at 11:45 pm local time (10:45 GMT), when the last visitors leave.

“The measure, which will be announced on Tuesday, is of mostly symbolic value. We are going to significantly reduce the lighting time of the tower without affecting its operation, without interfering with visitors and customers of restaurants,” Jean-Francois Martin, administrative chair of the Society for the Exploitation of the Eiffel Tower (SETE) was quoted as saying.

Martin stressed that the energy saving “won't be phenomenal,” but will set an example for others.

READ MORE: French industry must reduce energy consumption – PM

The night-time lighting of the monument, which is visited by more than 20,000 people a day, reportedly accounts for 4% of its annual energy consumption.

Other cities across the country are also reducing night-time lighting of key sites. Monuments in Marseille including the Pharo Palace will switch the lights off earlier from the end of September, to save energy.

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