Office workers in France who leave for the night without turning out the lights may not only be in breach of their employers' environmental policies, from Monday they are also breaking the law.

 

Legislation passed in January that requires shops, offices and public sector buildings to turn off all unnecessary lighting overnight came into effect at the start of the month, requiring organisations to turn off all unused internal and external lights between the hours of 1am and 7am.

 

According to figures from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, the new legislation is expected to save €200m a year in energy costs and cut carbon emissions by 250,000 tons.

 

Under the rules, all non-residential buildings will have to ensure lights are turned off by 1am or an hour after the last person has left the building, whichever is latest. Lights can then be switched on at 7am or an hour before work starts.

 

Significantly, the rules cover lighting in shop windows and lighting for the fronts of buildings - a move that has angered some in the retail and tourism industries.

 

According to reports, fines of up to €750 can be levied by local authorities on businesses breaking the rules, while repeat offenders could see their power cut off.

 

However, the government has ensured that some key sites will be exempt from the rules. For example, the Eiffel Tower's famous light shows will be unaffected, while some areas will see the ban lifted for festival days. In addition, security lighting is not covered by the ban.