Parisian climate activists have found a new way to get their message across against energy waste in the City of Light – by turning off shop signs and advertising screens that stay on all night despite government urgings on people to cut electricity consumption.

At 9pm on a recent evening, about 20 members of Extinction Rebellion gathered for a tactical briefing before spreading out in another nighttime raid.

If police spot them, “we absolutely don’t run,” says “Joad,” a 32-year veteran of the movement, outlining the legal risks and advice for those who could be arrested.

“In France, 12 million people are freezing because they can’t heat their homes, and on the other hand we’re wasting that energy on billboards that are completely useless,” he tells AFP.

After distributing posters and equipment, including telescopic poles to reach outdoor light switches, Joad’s team heads to the lively Marais district, a magnet for Parisians and tourists where dozens of retailers have branches.

Click and a Levi’s sign will go out. The group sticks posters on other shop windows with the inscription “This is not Versailles!” — the scolding that generations of French children hear when they leave the lights on unnecessarily.

The team targets opticians, jewelers, perfume and mattress stores, and the multitude of glowing billboards, prying open the frames to turn them off and replacing ads with billboards of their own.

The government, under pressure to see Russia restrict gas exports to Europe, has urged people to show energy “restraint” as winter approaches, particularly by lowering home heating thermostats to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) .

In addition, it has decreed that from June 2023 neon signs and advertising must be switched off from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Paris City Council goes even further and, from December, orders signs and advertisements to be switched off from 11:45 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

It’s not early enough for climate activists.

“We know this is very symbolic because the electricity used by neon signs is a tiny fraction of the energy the country uses,” said “Pikou,” a 36-year-old, who also used a pseudonym.

The bigger problem for Pikou is the government’s “duplicity”.

“What makes me angry, and that’s why I’m here tonight, is that the government is asking ordinary people to exercise restraint with small gestures like turning the heat down or turning off the wifi, but they don’t have the political guts to ask of them.” companies the same restraint,” he said.

As activists make their way through the winding streets of the Marais, their actions are often applauded by passers-by.

“I totally agree with them,” says Federica, a tourist from Milan. Anna, who also stops to watch, calls the illuminated signs “a disgrace.”

One deal in particular has drawn the activists’ ire. It’s a clothing boutique that boasts its eco-consciousness with the slogan “Because there is no Planet B” alongside three large advertising screens.

The screens are quickly covered with posters.

“This is phase one. It’s about raising awareness and preventing,” says Joad, adding that some shopkeepers are responding with messages of support and promises to turn off the lights.

“For those who keep the lights on and continue this waste, we will proceed to phase two starting in December, which will be a little bolder.”