Lights off: France parkour collectives fight pollution one store sign at a time

Movement wants to raise awareness about light pollution and energy consumption

The Champs-Elysees may be empty, with a strict pandemic curfew in place across France, but the shops have been leaving their signs on all the same.

And so a few months ago a parkour collective decided to take matters into its own hands. With members using their gymnastic abilities to climb walls and scaffolding to turn off the illuminated signs, the Paris-based On The Spot collective is just one of a number of parkour collectives around France trying to raise awareness about light pollution and energy consumption as part of the Lights Off movement.