Monique Palomares wrote to me from France about Daylight Savings Time there…
Daylight Savings Time in the Spring is called “Passage à l’heure d’été” in French. That translates to “Changeover to the Summertime Hour”. It takes place in the middle of the night of the last Saturday to Sunday in March. At 2 am it becomes 3 am. The return to winter “time” is done in the middle of the night of the last Saturday to Sunday in October.
There have been time changes in the past to save energy. During World War II part of the country was “on German time” which was Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) + 2 hours. After the war, France remained at GMT + 1 hour until 1973 when Daylight Savings Time was established in part to cushion the effects of the oil crisis. Almost 50 years later the benefits of this measure are less and less, especially compared to the negative consequences on health and the little savings generated.
The seasonal time change should end in 2021. At that point each country in the European Union will be free to stay all year round in either summer “time” or winter “time”.
Monique Palomares works with me on the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World. -Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2020 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, Daylight Savings Time, France, Holidays Around the World, Mama Lisa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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