Hadj Benhalima measured the building in front of him, took a run at the wall, pushed off its surface with one foot,
spun in midair,
and reached out to flick a switch several meters above the ground.
A second later the bright sign outside the currency exchange shop went out, one of many window lightings the wiry 21-year-old and his
fellow parkourers turned off in Paris one night
last week in an attempt to combat energy waste.
“There are a lot of shop windows lit up at night and for no reason. So since I can turn them
off, I try to do it as
much as possible,” explains Benhalima between jumps.
Young athletes who practice Parkour, a sport that consists of running,
swinging and jumping in urban spaces
, call their nightly escapades "Lights out".
They use the kill switches that are commonly placed outside buildings in France for emergency services to
cut power in the
event of a fire.
They say their actions help
enforce orders from the
Paris City Council that shops turn off all signs and windows in the middle of the night.
Patrolling policemen offer little resistance.
Traversing the posh neighborhoods near the Opéra Garnier and the Champs-Elysées, Benhalima and
his friends raid
local cafes and shops.
The Paris-based collective On The Spot is just one of several Parkour groups that have been taking action against light pollution and
energy waste in cities across France for
two years .
His actions have captured public attention at a time when the government is
urging households and businesses
to reduce energy consumption ahead of a winter energy crisis across Europe.
"It's nice to see
," says digital creator Umud Tekinalt.
"People congratulate us. Some even try to imitate us."
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