While protective glasses, one of the safe ways to observe the partial solar eclipse which will take place this Wednesday August 12, are in out of stock in France, the management of the astronomical event by the authorities is controversial. On social networks, a publication thus draws an unflattering comparison between government management of the eclipse of 1999 and that of 2026:
“In 1999, the government distributed 35 million free glasses, set up information points and capped sales prices.
In 2026, the Ministry of Health recognizes that it has not planned any prevention campaign, glasses have to be paid for and are in short supply.”
If the French authorities had indeed put in place a substantial system for access to protective glasses during the 1999 eclipse, they had not distributed 35 million glasses free of charge, as stated in this publication published on August 11, 2026. © Facebook
On Facebook, French political figures such as the spokesperson for the Lutte Ouvrière party, Nathalie ArthaudAnd Bally Bagayokomayor La France insoumise of Saint-Denis, published a similar accusation. According to these personalities, “30 million glasses” were distributed free of charge during the 1999 eclipse.
If government mobilization was indeed greater in 1999 than in 2026, the figures put forward on social networks concerning the free distribution of protective glasses are not accurate, as Alain Cirou, former director general of the French Astronomical Association, one of the associations responsible for the distribution of glasses during the 1999 eclipse, confirmed to the Observers editorial team.
Also readRadio films, welding mask… Why DIYing protection to watch the eclipse is dangerous
More than half of the glasses distributed by the commercial sector in 1999
According to a report published by Public health France in May 2020, “more than 30 million approved glasses” were distributed during the 1999 eclipse.
However, this report also specifies, the dissemination of these protections was done according to several methods, including paid:
“in the form of placing it on the market for a fee or free of charge as part of advertising operations;
in the form of free provision as part of events organized by various associations or local authorities;
in the form of distribution by the State in holiday centers or for disadvantaged people”.
Alain Cirou does the math: out of the total 30 million glasses distributed, around 16 million pairs were “taken over by the market”, or a little more than half of the protections. The distribution of 12 million pairs “at cost or free” was organized by the French Astronomical Association, which approached local authorities, associations and private companies for this task.
According to Public Health France, the State was directly responsible for the distribution of 1.5 million pairs. An appendix to the report shows the diversity of the methods of distribution of glasses, which also involved profit-seeking players such as mass distribution or manufacturers:
The methods of distribution of protective glasses in France during the 1999 eclipse. © Summary of Public Health France, “Device for the prevention and monitoring of ocular complications linked to the observation of the total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 in France”
“The government gave the impetus in 1999”
Although it did not necessarily directly finance the majority of glasses distributed, the government’s involvement was nevertheless decisive for the availability of protection, recalls Alain Cirou:
“We had worked for months in advance with the Ministry of Health, associations and local elected officials to find out how to manage the eclipse. We were faced with a problem: we thought that the market was going to solve everything (for the distribution of glasses) but that did not work. The State then gave the necessary impetus through its own orders and its consultation work so that the market was encouraged to supply the glasses and for the distribution of 12 million pairs at cost or free.”
Other measures taken by the government: the blocking by circular of the sale price of glasses at 5 francs (0.76 euros) and a major communication campaign mobilizing “10 million information leaflets in French and 700,000 posters”, as indicated in a question asked to the Ministry of Health in the Senate in 1999.
The strong government mobilization of 1999 contrasts with a lesser mobilization of the authorities for the eclipse of 2026, noted by Alain Cirou, who affirms:
“I have been working for more than a year, I am amazed that this problem was only taken into account at the last minute. There is a lack of coordination with the public authorities to do anything other than communication, we have not had any interlocutors, apart from the Ministry of Research. So we have the impression that we are only going from crisis to crisis.”
