PARIS — After taking a few steps back to get a running start, Haji Benhalima dashed toward the building, pushing against the wall with his feet, propelling upwards and extending his arms.
At the peak of the leap, he switched off the lights more than 10 feet off the ground. There was a click, and the bright lights of a nearby barber shop went out for a moment.
Benhalima, a lean, 21-year-old dressed in all black, was back on the pavement, his friends cheering “Wow!” This was his second store sign that he turned off during a recent nighttime tour through Paris’ upscale districts. More people follow him as he soars back across the city.
For the past two years, a group of young athletes who practice parkour (the sport of running, climbing, and jumping over urban obstacles) have turned off useless store signs at night to combat light pollution. Hanging out in the big cities of France. save energy.
Videos of their feat, which shows Spider-Man-like aerialists clinging to the edges of stone facades and balconies and blacking out streets with the flick of a high switch, have been on social media since the trend began. It is gaining popularity.
But these so-called light-off tactics have received a great deal of repercussions in recent months, with France embarking on energy-saving efforts to address Russia’s chokehold on European gas.
Paris, the City of Light, is a favorite target. Landmark monuments get dark earlier than usual, but many shop signs are still lit up all night.
“Everyone can contribute in their own way” to saving energy, says Kevin Ha, leader of On the Spot Parkour, a Paris-based collective of about 20 members. . “I will fully demonstrate my physical ability.”
A few times a month, Mr. Ha and his compatriots can be seen hopping around Paris looking for electronic billboards on shades or illuminated store names.
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They look for a small emergency switch installed outside the storefront. Usually about 9 to 13 feet tall. In most cases, these switches only control outdoor billboards. That is, the group cannot turn off her display in the window, which fills the interior of the store with golden light. Although in vain.
Gorgeous areas like the Champs-Élysées are ideal playgrounds for groups. As I walked down the main street, I erased the signs of luxury stores one after another, aiming like a professional sniper.
“Click.” Louis Vuitton. “Click.” Longchamp. “Click.” Rolex.
Extinguishing other people’s property and turning off lights may be attacked as a form of trespassing, but parkour athletes, or non-violent vigilantes, are rarely respected for their activities. It claims to enforce rules only.
issued by the City Hall of Paris more than ten years ago order Although it requires stores to turn off all signs and window displays from 1am to 6am, the ordinance is widely ignored and has little impact.
“For 10 years there was no follow-up, no control, no sanctions. National Sky and Night Environmental Protection Associationhas long lobbied for greater action against light pollution.
So the members of On The Spot took matters into their own hands. The group often congregates in the so-called Golden Triangle district of western Paris, the epicenter of French luxury, where the streets are lined with elegant Haussmannian buildings with cream-coloured façades.
Enforcing orders on behalf of authorities certainly falls into a legal gray area. But the group said every police officer it met during its patrol approved the initiative as long as it didn’t cause damage.
“They are right to act,” said Dan Lahr, deputy environmental mayor of Paris. “It’s thanks to them that we put an end to these shocking habits.”
Dali Devaveche, another member of On the Spot, said these nighttime missions allowed him to “send a message” about environmental protection while also honing his parkour skills. is killing two birds with one stone,” he said.
French actor and stunt choreographer David Bell is credited with popularizing the sport in the 1990s as a way to move gracefully and dynamically through urban landscapes. Since then it has spread all over the world.
On the Spot members often train on the large promenades east of Paris, performing their moves in a skyscraper-lined landscape. The most commonly used technique for extinguishing the lights is the “pasmerail” or “wall run”. It consists of jumping over a wall by pushing on it with one foot and propelling it upwards.
Sometimes athletes climb over doorways to get to switches And balconies — wow insomniac residents.
Ha, 30, says the On the Spot Collective was inspired by the Wizy gang from Rennes, France, and was the first parkour group to come up with the idea of acrobatic obliterating store signs.a smooth video One such performance they posted on Instagram in 2020 reached over 700,000 views.A similar initiative emerged soon after Across of Country.
“We are kind of the generation that bears the brunt of global warming,” said 27-year-old Matthew Brallard, a member of the Wizy Gang. He added that he no longer believed that “solutions would come from political leaders,” adding that these lights-out patrols were just the latest example of a younger generation ready to take action.
Smaller cities across France are to follow government-issued regulations lights out edict Official rules, similar to those in Paris Said It can save electricity for 750,000 households each year.
On a recent nighttime expedition, the five members of On The Spot had their element. The streets around them glittered with dazzling signs of beauty and sports stores and glittering facades of luxury clothing stores.
“Excellent,” said Mr. Benhalima, looking at the scene with obvious excitement. Spotting a dazzling sign for a French bank where he has an account, he hastily climbs a gutter to stop it. “My favorite,” he said with a grin.
By the time the tour ended at 3:30 am, they had taken out nearly 40 signs.
Many of the stores affected did not respond to requests for comment on their parkour activities. Those who answered that the sign was on at night due to a problem with the automatic lighting control system.
Some employees said they were unaware of the decree and questioned the legality of the group’s activities. .
Sophia Siciuro, who works at the art gallery where Ha turned off the lights, said the light helped attract the attention of potential clients. However, she admitted that it goes against conservation efforts.
“It’s good that young people are taking the initiative,” said Shichiuro.
France is heading towards what President Emmanuel Macron called a new energy era ‘temperance’.
Paris authorities recently began extinguishing the decorative lights that adorn the monuments earlier than usual. schedule Reduce your energy usage by 10% this winter.
the government also announced edict Just this month, it standardized the rules for turning off illuminated billboards across France. Currently I have to turn off from 1am to 6am. Violations will result in a fine of €1,500 ($1,480).
But lobbyist Ducreux said the new rule lacked the necessary ambition amid the current energy crisis.
However, the parkour initiative may have had the desired effect.
Ha said he noticed several shops had stopped leaving their lights on in recent months after his group targeted them. I’m in.
“At least I can sleep well,” he said.