According to a report by Reuters on October 24, local time, a group of parkour athletes are launching a "Lights Off" event in France.

They "fly over the walls" on the streets of big cities such as Paris at night, and turn off the neon signs of many shops by running, jumping, climbing and other actions to achieve the purpose of saving energy.

During a lights-out operation, Ben Halima first measured the building in front of him, then ran towards the wall, kicked it with one foot, turned around in mid-air, and reached out to flip a switch several meters above the ground. With a bang, in just a second, the store's dazzling outdoor sign went dark.

Calling their nighttime adventures "lights out," the parkourers use small emergency switches, often installed outside buildings, to cut power to store signs in an effort to combat light pollution and save energy.

The men said their actions helped enforce orders from Paris city hall and that patrolling police would hardly stop them. More than a decade ago, Paris City Hall issued an order requiring stores to turn off all signage lights and window display lights between 1 am and 6 am, but the ordinance was widely ignored. So, the members of "On The Spot" decided to take matters into their own hands.

However, the "lights out" campaign of "On The Spot" is still controversial in France. Some store employees said they were unaware of the decree the group was talking about and questioned the legality of the group's activities. "Are they allowed to do that?" asked a perfume store employee.

In addition, because members of the group climbed other people's houses to turn off the lights during parkour, some people thought they were involved in trespassing. And, in enforcing orders on behalf of French authorities, the parkour have also stepped into a legal grey area.

In response, "On The Spot" said that all police officers they encountered during the operation were in favor of the plan, as long as it did not cause damage. The group also said they had the full support of the Paris city council.

“They were right to act,” Dan Lert, Paris’ deputy mayor for the environment, told The New York Times. "It's also thanks to them that we can put an end to these shocking habits."

It is worth mentioning that the Paris government recently began to early shut down the decorative lighting at night in several landmark buildings, including the Eiffel Tower, as part of a plan to reduce energy consumption by 10% this winter.

This month, the French government issued another decree to regulate the lights-out rules for lighting advertising signs throughout France. All lighting advertisements are prohibited from 1:00 to 6:00 in the morning. Violators will be fined up to 1,500 euros.