13 this protective layer 17 can assume various forms and in a first embodiment is in the form of a breathable textile in order to give a textile touch and feel to the illuminating complex 11 while letting as much light as possible through the openings in the textile in a second embodiment protective layer 17 can also be made of a solid transparent material and be in the form of a rigid sheet made of a material such as glass pmma or polycarbonate which is mechanically assembled facing optical fibres 13 in a third embodiment protective layer 17 can also be attached so that it is intimately bonded to optical fibres 13 by means of a spray coating process especially a process for applying a resin which is commonly referred to as a u201c gel coat u201d what is more fire resistance comparison studies have been conducted using special purpose measuring tools in accordance with the applicable standards concerning flexible and rigid materials nf f 92 503 and nf 92 501 railway applications nf 16 101 technical specification sncf ratp stm s 001 and building p 92 502 respectively a complex was produced by way of example using a rigid metallic backing an msp modified silicone polymer based bonding intermediate optical fibres with a pc core and ground threads made of a flame resistant polyester such as trevira u00ae cs in particular the textile web thus formed may comprise in the weft direction an alternation of 17 optical fibres and 17 ground threads per centimetre made of u201c non fire u201d polyester such as threads marketed under the trevira u00ae cs brand name and in the warp direction 50 ground.