Paris is planning to curtail on lights at night.

Although Paris is known as the City of Lights, things will be a little darker in France since the government has decided to limit the use of streetlights.

The Environmental Ministry of France has decided to try and curb not only energy usage, but light pollution as well.

Starting in July, all businesses will be forced to turn off their lights an hour after the last employee leaves and all outside building lights or in shop windows will have to be out by 1 a.m.

The environment minister Delphine Batho said that the new law will decrease carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter million tons a year.

Many European countries have light pollution laws including the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Italy.

The UK passed a Clean Neighborhoods and Environment Act in 2005 to address the problem of "artificial light emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance.”

One Italian regional law limits the energy consumption for external lighting to a one percent increase per year, in an effort to make their use of energy more efficient.

What do you think? Is it a good idea for the government to limit the consumption of energy?