Eiffel Tower to plunge into early darkness every night amid energy crisis in Europe

In an effort to tackle the looming energy crisis ahead of seemingly harsh winters that otherwise ramp up power consumption due to heating, European countries are resorting to rare conservation practices including switching off the decorative lights on the Eiffel Tower to save energy. Hotel de Ville (Paris City Hall) has decided to turn off the lights on the iconic landmark couple of hours earlier at 11:45 p.m. instead of 01:00 a.m. The Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group will also turn off the lights across its boutiques worldwide effective October to alleviate the energy woes across Europe. 

Effective September 23, the city of Paris' extra hour and 15 minutes of darkness on its romantic tourist attraction Eiffel Tower is part of its strategy to cut power use by at least 10% to bring under control the soaring energy prices in the EU. Eiffel Tower attracts an estimated 7 million tourists per year and is decorated with more than 20,000 lightbulbs and almost 25 miles of string lights and electrical cords. One of the world's seven wonders usually displays a five-minute light each hour.

Elsewhere in Europe, the government urged the residents to limit indoor temperatures to 19 degrees Celsius or lower. In Germany, Olaf Scholz's administration ordered the Germans to turn off the escalators in shopping centres when not in use. In Finland, the residents were told to shower faster in approximately five minutes, while in Spain they were asked to avoid wearing ties to feel less hot as the use of air conditioning was limited. Austria, the UK and the Czech Republic decided to cap the electricity prices.

Macron asks France to cut 10% in energy use

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the nation to cut 10% in energy use to deter the risks of rationing and cuts during the upcoming winters. macron warned French citizens that should they fail to implement the forced energy savings, they might have to face the consequences in the months ahead. French president noted that his government may be coerced into taking more stringent measures if the voluntary actions did not suffice.

“Cuts will happen as a last resort," said French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that the "best energy is that which we don’t consume." 

Macron demanded that French businesses, landmark sites, and households shrink their energy consumption by minimizing the use of air conditioning and turning down heating systems. Europe's energy crisis loomed into an ordeal after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that it will not resume the supply of natural gas through the EU's main pipeline Nord Stream I which runs via the Baltic Sea to Germany. It had earlier reduced the flow falsely citing the urgent maintenance work to repair key components. Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, had blamed EU, UK and Canadian sanctions for Russia's refusal to deliver gas through the key pipeline to the EU from St Petersburg.

“The problems pumping gas came about because of the sanctions western countries introduced against our country and several companies,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “There are no other reasons that could have caused this pumping problem.”