France’s railroad stations and airports will go dark from 1 to 6 am daily, turning off their digital advertising signs to reduce energy consumption and its effect on the environment. Necessary directional signs and schedule boards will stay on.
The ‘lights out’ was agreed to by rail operator SNCF and the airports authorities, along with the government, although they were originally not covered by a new law, passed in October, that turns off the ad lights all over the country for five hours a night.
In 2020, the National Environment Agency pointed out that the then-1400 advertising screens at stations were consuming as much electricity as 21 schools with ten classrooms each. The number of panels has increased rapidly in the years since.
