French School Starts Handing Out Blankets To Students To Save On Heating - Reports

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2022) A French school has started handing out blankets to students amid low temperatures in classrooms, as the municipality does not turn on the heating, complaining about increased electricity bills, the Franceinfo broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

Parents of children who go to the school located in the commune of Limeil-Brevannes to the south-east of Paris have launched a petition demanding to turn on the heating, the broadcaster reported.

"They measured the temperature in school classrooms, and it turned out that it was only 10-12 degrees Celsius (50-53.6 degrees Fahrenheit)," vice president of the local association of parents of students Audrey Gouffe told the broadcaster. "But the mayor's office told us that given the current situation, children should get used to studying in such conditions," she added.

Limeil-Brevannes Mayor Julien Laudet-Haddad told the broadcaster that the city administration's electricity costs increased by 3.7 million Euros ($3.8 million). He also noted that the funds promised by the government to support municipalities have not been allocated.

The school in Limeil-Brevannes hands out blankets to students, and heaters are brought to classrooms because the heating is turned off, according to the report.

Many French schools still have not turned on the heating, despite the fact that it has become very cold outside, the report read.

The city authorities said they were forced to turn off the heating in order to reduce energy consumption and comply with the energy sobriety plan presented by the government this fall, the broadcaster reported.

In early October, the French government launched an energy sobriety plan to face winter. The goal is to reduce France's energy consumption by 10% in two years, and to ensure that the country spends the winter without gas or electricity shortages. The plan's measures also include a call to limit heating to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius and turn off lighting after 10 p.m, as well as encouragement of remote work.

Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been surging as part of a global trend. After the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, fuel prices have accelerated the growth, pushing many EU governments to resort to contingency measures.