Gironda. these cities plan to save energy by limiting Christmas decorations

Le Figaro Bordeaux

Keep the spirit of the New Year by saving energy. It’s a balancing act by the mayors of the Bordeaux metropolitan area and several municipalities in the surrounding area, which have forced the sails to be scaled down on Christmas decorations. Although the luminaries will soon be installed in Bordeaux, this year they will not shine all night and will be activated a little later.

events “good feeling of energy“Says Laurent Guillemin, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, in charge of public lighting policy. He reminds that the New Year’s equipment used by the municipality has been leased for three years from Christmas 2021. A choice that was already part of a plan to reduce energy consumption initiated by the city of Bordeaux.

A €1,500 bill in Bordeaux

“This year we removed the two-week activity“, declares Laurent Guillemin. Instead of starting at the end of November, the illuminations will start only on December 9 and will be removed on January 2. One more change, these lights will be turned off at one o’clock in the morning. And like last year, the glass and steel Christmas tree, whose purchase sparked heated debate in 2021, will return to Pay Berland Square. Negotiating the tariffs of the city’s energy carriers until the end of December, before the price increases, the municipality provides an energy fee for a period of only 1,500 euros thanks to these funds.

Elsewhere in the Gironde, other municipalities have also decided to limit lighting over the Christmas period to reduce their energy consumption. For several years, the commune of La Brede has had a Christmas light garden made entirely of LED lights. Light decorations for this winter will also be less and will be about three weeks less than before.

In Bègles, the lighting period will also be shortened, from December 16 to January 2 only. Just like in Langone, where the mayor announced in September that there will be fewer Christmas lights in 2022. The cities of Libourne, Aige and Rochefort plan not to install an ice rink this year because the structure is too energy-intensive. At Liburn this installation will be replaced by a ferris wheel.