advertising

In Chapter 3. Outdoor advertising, Paragraph § 21 explicitly forbids the installation of "illuminated advertisements" in the "open country." This term presumably pertains to rural areas situated away from urban centres, although a specific definition of "open country" is not provided by this law.

Section §21 regulates lighting systems, advertising systems, and sky spotlights with a focus on protecting insect fauna and preventing light pollution in outdoor areas. Key provisions include restrictions on illuminating building facades during specific hours, requirements for insect-friendly lighting on public streets, paths, and squares, and a ban on outdoor advertising systems. Exceptions are granted for specific cases, such as advertising at events, signposts, and certain agricultural advertising systems, subject to approval from the nature conservation authority. The highest nature conservation authority is empowered to establish detailed regulations regarding the impact of outdoor lighting systems on wildlife and the permissibility of illuminated advertising systems in outdoor areas.

Article 9. Avoidable light emissions: After 11 p.m. and until dawn, it is prohibited to illuminate the facades of public buildings unless this is necessary for reasons of public safety or prescribed by or on the basis of legal regulations. Illuminated or light-emitting advertising systems are prohibited in outdoor areas. The municipality can allow exceptions to sentence 1 until 11 p.m. at the latest. Restaurants and commercial establishments that are permissibly established at the site of the service, provided that there is a significant need for this in consideration of the requirement to avoid emissions.

Subject: ban on all illuminated or digital advertising, in the event of a threat to the security of electricity supply.

The decree aims to protect the living environment by limiting outdoor advertising while allowing the use of new means. The act reduces the formats of wall advertising devices, depending on the size of the towns, up to four square meters in towns with less than 10,000 inhabitants. It establishes a density rule for classic devices sealed on the ground and wall along roads open to public traffic, by limiting one advertising device per 80 meter strip on private property and another on public property. It specifies the special and derogatory rules applicable in airports and train stations, in order to take into account their specificity in terms of size and operation, in particular for larger airports. It establishes an obligation to turn off light devices: light advertisements must be turned off at night, between one a.m. and six a.m., except for airports and urban units with more than 800,000 inhabitants, for which mayors will issue the applicable rules. Illuminated signs will follow the same rules. Illuminated advertisements, particularly digital ones, are specifically regulated with regard to their surface area, their luminance, their energy consumption and their anti-glare device. Advertising on tarpaulins is specifically regulated. Construction site tarpaulins may include advertising on half of their surface. Advertising banners must respect a density rule. Local advertising regulations, municipal adaptations of national rules, can henceforth only be more restrictive than the national rule. They will be developed, revised and modified according to the rules applicable to local urban planning plans.