NOISE POLLUTION, THE WAR OF SILENCE | TF1 | Reportages

1 out of 3 FRENCH PEOPLE SUFFER FROM NOISE

The French Public Health Code stipulates that “no noise should be allowed to disturb the peace and quiet of the neighborhood or human health, in a public or private place”, whether in the city or the countryside.

Although noise pollution is now punishable by law, for those who suffer from it, it’s often David against Goliath.

In Andrézieux, near St Etienne, the sound of birdsong is a distant memory for Nicolas Guinand and his family. I love gardening,“ he says, ”if it’s only to hear that while I’m normally quiet in my garden. It’s so impressive that you can’t ignore it. It’s ruining our lives, our morale and certainly our health too”. The source of this life-destroying nuisance lies just behind his hedge, less than 50 m from the vegetable garden, where a metal recycling company set up business 2 years ago. The 3-hectare open-air site is home to a total of almost 200 families, all of whom suffer the daily din of cranes churning out hundreds of tons of metal.

For the past 7 years, Philippe Boibleau has been fighting against the noise of the Paris-Bordeaux TGV, which passes over his property 70 times a day. “When you go for a walk, you go to see your animals and every 10m you hear an intrusive, aggressive noise, it disturbs, you’re disturbed, that’s how I feel.”

The Charente farmer has joined forces with other local residents to demand financial compensation. Will the Bordeaux court rule in their favor?

As in many big cities, it’s the noise from parties that’s posing a problem for Parisians. Rosella and Cyril Froissart have lived in the 18th arrondissement for 25 years, but their daily life has become a living hell because of the terraces. “It’s become an obsession, we think about it every day”. The couple don’t know where to turn, and are considering moving to another neighborhood.

Arzak Chackri runs a historic bistro in the 10th arrondissement, and neighbors have been attacking him for noise for three years. The restaurateur has had to endure no less than 5 administrative closures due to noise pollution, and could well be out of business. “Of course people laugh, but we’re not going to tell people to stop laughing, it’s not possible! Arzak will try to plead his case with the Prefecture, which regulates noise in the capital.

In the hills near Marseille, Jocelyne Buffy fights against the gunshots from an open-air shooting range. It’s terrible,“ she says, ”the little ones are napping, so we have to protect them. In addition to the noise, there would also be a few stray bullets in the gardens, an argument that could weigh in the balance in favor of the pensioner and local residents who are up in arms against the shooting range.

From Paris to Marseille, via the suburbs of St Etienne and the Charente, we went to meet these French people for whom hell…is noise!