For the past few months, Didier Ansoul has had a new reflex when leaving his home. “I can’t help it, I first look at the wheels of my car,” smiles this resident of Sérémange-Erzange, in Moselle. It must be understood: on January 3, the fifty-year-old found his vehicle… on agglos. The four tires, rims included, had been removed during the night in the quiet little parking lot in front of his home, right next to the church and the cemetery.
A band was then rampant in this little corner of Lorraine known for these old steel factories. The thieves were arrested shortly after and, another more unexpected consequence, the public lighting was turned on again. For a back-pedalling in order from the town hall which had nevertheless decided in November of a cut between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
“When we saw the surge in prices in October, we chose to switch off. But with these degradations, I do not know if there was a cause and effect relationship, we felt that many inhabitants were worried, ”explains the city councilor, Serge Jurczak. “So we voted again. “And since April 1, the dark night no longer exists in this town of about 4,500 inhabitants.
Good news ? On the spot, difficult to find someone who will say the opposite. Well, yes, just Jordan, a young man in his twenties who describes himself as “the night guy”. “I prefer when it’s off, it’s cooler,” he adds without giving any additional argument. The justifications are rather to be sought on the other side, among the supporters of night lighting.
“Too bad for what it costs”
“We have a dog and it happens that we walk it during these hours. It’s a lot safer with light”, explains Salomé. “He could put one lamp out of two”, adds his companion, Aurélien, perhaps more sensitive to ecology and balanced budgets. More in any case than Sylvie, crossed a few meters away. “Too bad for what it costs, we pay and that’s it,” says the fifty-year-old who nevertheless lives on the long rue Charles-de-Gaulle, where traffic stops little.
In the small adjacent parallels, rare are the cars that break through the night. “In winter, it was completely dark here in the suburbs, remembers Marie-Antoinette. There are really small passages and we don’t really know where we are walking. It was worrying. “I even found it dangerous,” adds Josephine. Whether we save money elsewhere or put in LEDs, it doesn’t consume anything! »
The deployment of its new generation light bulbs is currently underway. “We accelerated the change and I would also like to put clocks to reduce the lighting as much as possible. In summer, it’s late in the day, ”continues the mayor, who is also looking for other savings positions. “We hoped not to spend between 10,000 to 15,000 euros with this cut. solutions must be found elsewhere. We create false ceilings, we look at heating systems… But I won’t go back. I would perhaps have preferred to switch off but from the moment there are fears of the population, it is better to be pragmatic. »
It is not Didier Ansoul who will say the opposite. His misadventure still cost him nearly 1,500 euros in insurance and procedure… “I don’t want to say that it’s because of the streetlights that are off. I’m not against saving energy, but this was clearly a factor facilitating the theft. The mayor made the right decision. »