BFM TV INFO. In a circular sent on Tuesday, Elisabeth Borne delivers her instructions to her ministers in order to make “an unprecedented effort in terms of energy sobriety” in the French administration.
In early July, the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, asked companies to reduce their energy consumption by limiting the use of air conditioning and heating in particular. The public administration will also make an effort. According to our information, in a circular addressed to all the ministers on Tuesday, Elisabeth Borne ordered them, as well as the entire administration, to immediately put in place energy sobriety measures, “for the sake of exemplarity and acceptability efforts that are required of society as a whole”.
“Limit air conditioning”
Concretely, the ministries, the decentralized services of the State, the operators and the establishments open to the public will have to “limit the air conditioning to the premises whose interior temperature exceeds 26 degrees, not to leave the devices on standby and turn off the lights when they are not necessary.”
Ministers are also asked “to equip service and operator buildings with thermostats [placés sous leur autorité] and to ensure that the heating is only triggered when the temperature of the premises is below 19 degrees.”
In buildings open to the public, the doors must remain closed when the air conditioning or heating is on. A measure that is already implemented for businesses in several cities.
In her circular, Elisabeth Borne also encourages “sustainable mobility practices”, such as carpooling or easy access by bicycle. It also asks all its ministers to “ensure that all the events you organize or sponsor are exemplary in terms of energy sobriety”.