Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles to turn off lights in advance, says culture minister

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - Paris’ famous landmarks the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles will turn off the lights in advance in the evening alongside the Eiffel tower as a symbolic gesture toward conserving energy, France's culture minister announced Saturday.

"We are going to turn off the Louvre pyramid earlier, starting this evening. ... We will also turn off the facade of the Palace of Versailles,” Rima Abdul Malak told media about the government’s “energy sobriety” measures.

The Louvre, illuminated till 1 a.m. local time, will now go dark at 11 p.m. The Palace of Versailles will switch off its lights at 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. from next week, Malak added.

Earlier this week, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, also announced turning off the lights of the Eiffel tower at 11.45 p.m. when most of the tourists have left the monument, instead of 1 a.m.

The move aims to save energy and is a solidarity symbol for the French who are facing an energy crisis with inflated prices of electricity, gas, and fuel along with the rest of Europe.

For Malak, however, symbolic measures like dimming the lights of historical monuments are not enough. “It is important to mobilize citizens, but what is important is to work concretely on how to act for the ecological transition in our museums, in our theatres, in our cinemas, in all of France's cultural venues,” she said.