A new dress code is also being established in France as a result of the energy crisis.
France’s Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire is a typical representative of the Parisian elite, charming, super smart and sometimes a bit stiff in his tailor-made suit. But that was once. “You won’t find me in a tie anymore, but in a turtleneck sweater,” he announced on a radio show, and immediately included the explanation: “This will allow us to save energy. We will no longer heat my ministry if the temperature does not drop below 19 degrees.”
Now, with temperatures dropping seasonally, France is no longer talking about the Ukraine war or the aftermath of inflation, but about Le Maire’s royal blue turtleneck. “We are saved this winter,” many citizens tweeted with biting irony. The minister, who either doesn’t know the everyday concerns of his compatriots or misjudges them quite incorrectly, rained down mockery and malice, especially from the more distant regions. Few French people thought it was not so stupid for Le Maire to lead by example. It is easy to talk about saving energy; Spending the evening at 19 degrees has yet to be accepted by the entire nation.
Le Maire’s superior, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, is now helping. She showed up these days with a fashionable down jacket – in her office. She later appeared like this at a press conference. Her down jacket with a trendy blue and white pattern even outshined her – admittedly rather dry – wearer. However, Borne soon did the same for Environment Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher, and Health Minister Oliver Véran declared on a cool autumn evening that he had been working in a sweater all day.
Emmanuel Macron, who has just dined with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a black turtleneck sweater, must come up with something new. Because he has always liked to wear a chic black “col roulé”, as the turtleneck sweater is called in France. Can the noble Président de la République appear in the Elysée Palace wearing a wool hat and gloves when it gets even colder? That would be a blatant break with Parisian etiquette. The question that arises on this side of the Rhine is even trickier: Which energy-saving dress code would suit the federal government in Berlin? Maybe something knitted green, yellow and red?
