This decree of October 5 aims «to harmonize the rules for the nighttime extinction of illuminated advertisements», by imposing in particular to extinguish these devices between 01:00 a.m. and 06:00 a.m., with the exception of advertisements installed in airports and those supported by furniture. urban, for which extinction is postponed until June 1.
Offenders are liable to a fine of 1,500 euros, and 3,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense.
During a hearing at the Council of State on October 20, the SNPE, which also challenged the new provisions on the merits, had requested the urgent suspension of the decree on the grounds of the lack of time to equip advertisements with an automatic watchmaking device.
«In the state of the instruction, it remains difficult to get a precise idea of the number of devices concerned by a compliance» and «it does not appear that an intervention at short notice» to adjust the existing clocks «Would prove to be materially impossible», considered the Council of State.
Previously, nighttime extinguishing was compulsory outside urban areas and came under local advertising regulations in urban units of more than 800,000 inhabitants.
Negotiated for a long time, the decree must allow electricity savings to deal with the energy crisis, while limiting light pollution.
The SNPE, which represents around forty companies in the sector including many SMEs, had mentioned during the hearing the figure of 12,000 devices to be brought into compliance, out of 98,000 in total.
«Not all backlit panels are equipped with a clock. We have never worked on that. We have mainly invested in digital screens, which are much easier to control remotely,» Valérie told AFP. Descamps, Managing Director of Médiatransports, France’s leading public transport company and member of the UPE (Union for Outdoor Advertising).
Some 2,000 panels located mainly in stations must be brought into compliance by the company, at a cost of around 2 million euros.