Thomas Cazenave, centrist mayor of Bordeaux, March 22, 2026. UGO AMEZ FOR LE MONDE
"Turn the lights back on." The promise to restore nighttime public lighting became a central theme in France's municipal elections across many towns. For some, switching off or dimming public lighting is an environmental necessity; for others, it is a measure that increases insecurity. The issue has pitted left-wing and green candidates against those from the right and far right, much to the dismay of biodiversity researchers, who fear a step backward.
Immediately after his election, Thomas Cazenave, the new centrist Renaissance mayor of Bordeaux, announced his intention to "turn the lights back on at night in all the city's streets." In Poitiers, western France, Anthony Brottier, a former supporter of President Emmanuel Macron, also pledged to restore lighting "wherever necessary." Ludovic Fagaut, the newly elected Les Républicains (LR, right wing) mayor of Besançon, eastern France, decided to once again illuminate the citadel, despite the site being subject to a prefectural order protecting the local habitat and prohibiting disturbances to species nesting in the cliffs.
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