Shut doors when using air conditioners, shops in France told

Shops in France will be ordered to close doors when using air conditioning and limit neon lighting in a bid to cut energy waste, a minister has said, as per media reports.

These rules, already in place in some areas, will be rolled out across France, Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, BBC reported.

Energy costs in Europe have spiralled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Shops will be fined up to 750 euros, for breaking the air-conditioning rule, BBC reported.

Leaving doors open when air conditioning is on is "absurd", Pannier-Runacher told local radio station RMC.

She will issue two decrees on energy waste in the coming days, she told the Journal du Dimanche.

"The first will widen the ban on illuminated advertising, whatever the size of the city, between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.," she said, BBC reported.

"The second will ban shops from having their doors open while the air conditioning and heating are working."

The ban on neon signs is already in force in areas with a population under 800,000. Airports and stations are exempt.

Shell has warned energy rationing cannot be ruled out in EU, as the region struggles to cope with disruption to gas supplies from Russia.

France continues to experience extreme hot weather, increasing demand for air conditioning, BBC reported.
Indo-Asian News Service