La Montre Verte City Pulse Project

Marianne (and Uncle Sam) Wants You to Please Be Quiet

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, January 10, 2011 • Paris, France

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Paris has sensitized me to noise. Even though this is urban living to the 'nth' degree, Paris isn't as noisy as some other cities -- and of course, is also noisier than others. Noise mapping is done by most major cities, but how they compare, I've yet to discover. Still, using my own ears and sensitivity factor, I can tell you that New York City plays havoc with my nervous system the moment I land in the midst of the traffic noise as well as the level at which people talk, particularly in restaurants which use hard surfaces to create a frenetic din (on purpose). In Amsterdam, you hear almost nothing, thanks to the lack of cars and buses, leaving quieter boats, trams and bicycles to transport people. It's a pleasure to hear only the soft stream of the canals and an occasional bicycle bell.

In Paris, traffic noise along the boulevards and larger thoroughfares can make even the most elegant apartment unlivable and affect one's ability to sleep. Haussmannian buildings built on the network of these roads created by demolishing about 20,000 buildings in the 1860's traditionally have this problem of noise. This is why it is so advantageous to have the bedrooms on the courtyard and the living rooms on the street.

Human noise-making is decidedly different in France. The French were taught from a very early age to modulate their voices so that they cannot be heard in even the most crowded of circumstances. In general terms, you won't hear them talking into their cell phones, conversing loudly in public places or yelling to one another on the streets. In fact, if you pay attention, you'll notice that the voices you hear clearly in Paris are most often those of the foreigners who are visiting and who are fairly clueless that their voices carry more than the others. We Americans are quite famous for speaking loudly, so much so that this sign was produced with Uncle Sam as the authority: Uncle Sam Wants You to Please Be Quiet.

The complaints we hear about noise in Paris either come from visitors who are staying in our vacation rental apartments and are faced either with noise from the neighbors, the eating or drinking establishments nearby, or the noise is coming from the visitors and the neighbors are the ones doing the complaining.

In one such apartment which had been vacant a long time prior to it becoming a rental apartment, the neighbors became very spoiled by the peace and quiet and now are over-sensitive to even the sound of footsteps coming from above. They have threatened to call the police for such benign behavior as walking down the hall in stocking feet. (We say, "Let them. There's no law against walking in your own apartment!")

In another situation just this week, the renter suffered the noise from a radio left on loudly all day long while the apartment from which the noise came was uninhabited. After a full day of the unnecessary noise pollution, we were able to dispel it by politely asking the user of the guilty apparatus to turn it down or off. That was simply solved.

For a while I had a neighbor above me playing bongo drums during the daytime that had the ceiling overhead thumping and my blood pressure rising. I wasn't so polite -- banging on the door and yelling (in a very unbecoming loud American voice), "Arretez! La bruit est insupportable!" ("Stop! The noise is unbearable!")

On a more serious level, we are working with apartment owners whose entire building is suffering the noise from a café/bar that opened long after their property was purchased, making it difficult for everyone. This requires quite a bit more than a simple knock on the door and polite request. An attorney has been employed to walk them through the legal process.

From a health point of view, noise can damage physiological and psychological health by causing "aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects." (Wikipedia.org) Noise is measured in "decibel" levels:

For an interesting look at the noise mapping of Paris, visit the city's site at: paris.fr/

The city of Paris has a serious plan to reduce noise, divided into 13 themes:

1. The noise due to traffic
2. Noise reception in public places for the youth
3. The noise related to municipal activities
4. Noise prevention during construction of the Great Urban Renewal Project
5. Provide information, awareness, and environmental education on sound and noise
6. Reduce the noise in living spaces, neighborhood noise and develop mediation techniques
7. The noise associated with the national rail network
8. The noise caused by transport
9. The noise caused by planes, helicopters
10. The noise associated with deliveries
11. The noise due to motorized two-wheelers
12. The noise caused by the misuse of the horn
13. Building and construction noise

There are regulations to which one must adhere. The Public Health Code penalizes noise affecting the neighbors 24 hours a day and fines may reach as much as 450€. For the sound of footsteps on flooring, the condominium regulations takes priority. This is also true in the case of a business operating in an apartment building as the activity must conform to the condominium rules and authorized by all owners. The noise levels can be measured by the Office of Actions Against Noise (BACN) of the Préfecture de Police, using a sound level meter.

Different levels of noise are acceptable whether it takes place before or after 7 a.m. on weekdays (8 a.m. on weekends and holidays) and before or after 10 p.m. on weekdays (8 p.m. on weekends and holidays). If you have a neighbor noise problems, the city recommends you first try to meet with the offending neighbors, informing them of the discomfort it causes and the type of noise they are making to invite you to see for themselves and find a solution, of course. (this isn't always easy...or fun!) Otherwise, it offers lots of other solutions, a complete explanation of the regulations and how to deal with the problem.

For more information, visit the city site at: paris.fr/ and by all means, both Marianne and Uncle Sam want you to please be quiet.

A la prochaine...

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
(Photo by Harry Hamburg)


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P.S. If you don't already know, Marianne, is a national emblem of France, and is by extension, an allegory of Liberty and Reason.

P.P.S. The Winter Sales start Wednesday!

P.P.P.S. Parler Paris Après Midi - it’s tomorrow! The second Tuesday of every month, Parler Paris and French Property Insider readers gather at La Pierre du Marais for a drink and a "schmooze" --It's an opportunity to meet and chat with other like-minded people and a great way to make friends! It costs nothing except whatever you drink. Don't miss the next gathering, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 from 3 to 5 p.m.

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April 5-11, 2011
Essoyes, Champagne

"Go. Write. Feel safe. Be brave. Take the risk! Janet is there to catch you. And she is there to set you free." Writing from the Heart participant

This writing workshop/retreat in a lovely little village in the heart of Champagne, just two and a half hours away from Paris, offers seasoned writers as well as novices the chance to explore new creative territory and work on their writing in a supportive small group environment. Class meets in the mornings, and afternoons are free for independent writing, touring the area, or simply resting and recharging. Participants stay in a delightful three-star family-run hotel with a friendly staff, an excellent restaurant, and magnificent views of the village and surrounding vineyards.

Instructor, Janet Hulstrand, is a writer, editor, and teacher of writing and of literature whose essays have been published in Bonjour Paris, the Christian Science Monitor, and Smithsonian. Her first book, Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home, was published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. She writes for Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road and Downsizing the Home: Lessons Learned, and is working on her next book, A Long Way from Iowa, a literary memoir. Her relationship with the village and people of Essoyes (ESS-wah) goes back to 1978, when she and her future husband met and fell in love while picking grapes for the vendange.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FEBRUARY 15!
Cost: 1250 Euros (payable in dollars at current rate of exchange)
Applications now being accepted. Enrollment limited to 10.

For more information, visit www.essoyesschool.com or contact Janet Hulstrand at janet.hulstrand@gmail.com

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