Everyone who is thinking about moving to the French countryside, and who is against being woken up by the crowing of roosters, the mooing of cows, the sound of tractors, or the smell of barns, will not be able to complain, at least not in court, from now on. The French parliament passed the law in an effort to put an end to the hundreds of noise lawsuits brought each year by disgruntled neighbors, mostly city-dwellers seeking rural peace and quiet.
“Those who move to the countryside cannot demand that the peasants who feed them change their way of life,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said last year when the bill was first introduced to parliament. When he spoke about the issue at the annual agricultural show in March, he added that it was “surreal that the courts are bogged down … with disputes over cows that moo at night”.
From now on, people who choose to live near, next to, or above an existing farm, shop, bar, or restaurant cannot complain about noise or other inconveniences.
Congratulating lawmakers on Monday’s vote on the law, Dupond-Moretti added that it would define “the framework of a glorious vivre-ensemble (community life) that respects everyone.” “I’m thinking, for example, of the pizzeria on the corner of the street which, of course, produces smells and noise, but it was there before you moved into the first floor,” Dupond-Moretti told MPs.
Nicole Le Peih, an MP for the ruling centrist Renaissance Party, which is behind the bill, added: “It’s not a blank check for all the disruption in the neighborhood, but a common-sense measure.” Animal noise is a regular cause of rustic quarrels in France and is often seen as a symbol of conflict between those living in rural areas who keep animals for long periods of time or, for example, ring church bells, and privileged arrivals from urban areas of France or abroad who have moved or bought other houses in the countryside.
French judges have seen numerous plaintiffs pass through their courtrooms, including e.g. neighbors annoyed by the noisy rooster Maurice, who “survived” a legal attempt to “silence” him in 2019. Ducks, geese, cows, and even cicadas have faced attempts to silence them. In May last year, gendarmes turned up at the home of 92-year-old Colette Ferry to remove three frogs from her garden pond after complaints from neighbors.
In Le Beausset (Var, Provence), the mayor refused to kill the local cicadas after tourists complained they were too loud.
France passed a “sensory heritage” law three years ago, but complaints have continued, leading to new laws. However, not everyone was compliant with the new laws. Socialist lawmaker Gérard Leseul rejected what he called “a sweeping law that does nothing more than introduce principles that are already established and applied.”
