Public buildings lighting turns off in French city of Lille amid energy crunch

French officials in the city of Lille have cut the lighting in public buildings in a bid to decrease power consumption as the nation heads to a difficult cold season amid the continent’s energy crunch.

Media reports said the power austerity measures, which began in the northern French city on Monday, had reduced energy consumption by seven percent.

"We wished to quickly announce energy sobriety measures, and among the easiest to put in place was (to stop) lighting public buildings, because it was painless for Lille residents, although it was symbolic for us," deputy to the Lille mayor in charge of ecological transition Audrey Linkenheld said. 

"We have around ten municipal buildings that are lit up ... and we know that they consume energy. And even though the consumption was not significant, it was important for us to give a signal."

"The fact that we have reduced lighting allows us to save 170,000 kilowatt hours, or around 30,000 Euros," Linkenheld noted.

Other austerity measures by city officials included lowering temperatures in most public buildings and pools, closing the city's tropical garden and closing two fountains.

Linkenheld pointed out in a news conference on Thursday that the measures had decreased consumption by around seven million kilowatt/hours and saved the municipality around one million Euros, in total.

Meanwhile, the French city of Nantes has taken similar measures and reduced heating in public buildings. Other cities -- such as Paris, Strasbourg or Reims -- are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks as the energy crunch exacerbates across Europe.

Europe braces for 'one of the worst winters in history' amid looming recession: EU

The European Union is bracing for a recession in the wake of skyrocketing gas prices and soaring inflation, as the coming winter is likely to be "one of the worst in history," according to a top EU official.

Also in Sweden, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson warned last week that a difficult winter and dangerous disruptions threatened Europeans this coming winter.

Andersson said “war winter” was ahead, linking Europe’s energy crisis to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

“Russia’s energy war is having serious consequences for Europe and Swedish households and companies, especially in southern Sweden which is dependent on electricity prices in Germany, which in turn is very dependent on gas,” she said.

“This threatens our financial stability. If we don’t act soon it could lead to serious disruptions in the Nordics and Baltics,” she added. “In the worst-case scenario, we could fall into a financial crisis.”

Andersson’s speech came shortly after Moscow’s announcement that it was shutting down the single gas pipeline transferring Russian natural gas to Western Europe indefinitely.

Russia indefinitely suspends Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe

The Russian gas giant Gazprom has indefinitely suspended natural gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream 1 pipeline amid a worsening energy crisis in the continent.

Russia blames the US for the energy crisis in Europe by pushing and provoking the leaders of Europe to take the "suicidal" step of imposing sanctions on Moscow over the issue of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the Americans for the energy crisis in Europe, saying the US-led sanctions led to the current energy crisis across the European continent.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Eastern Economic Forum in the country's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok, Zakharova noted the US had long been seeking to break energy ties between Russia and major European powers, such as Germany, even though Moscow had been a reliable energy supplier since Soviet times.

‘Your energy price ceiling will become price floor:’ Top Russian lawmaker warns Europe

Russia has denounced the European attempts to cap the Russian energy prices, saying that such measures are doomed to fail and prices will rise beyond the attempted artificial ceilings.

"The dominance of Washington prevailed," Zakharova said. "Political forces were brought to power in the European Union who are playing the role of 'sheep-provocateurs."

"It is absolute suicide but it seems they will have to go through this," she added.

When asked what needed to happen for Nord Stream 1 to begin pumping again, Zakharova answered, "Listen, you are asking me questions that even children know the answer to: those who started this need to finish this."

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