When the Streets Stay Dark: Copper Thefts Unsettle Villeurbanne

It often starts quite suddenly. One street goes dark, a few hours later the next block follows. In Villeurbanne, the direct neighboring city of Lyon, a series of copper thefts is currently causing growing unrest. Entire residential neighborhoods lose their street lighting at night — with consequences that go far beyond a technical defect. "When you’re on foot, you have to be careful," many residents now say. The sentence sounds banal but hits a nerve. Because the absence of light immediately alters daily life. Parents prefer to pick up their ...