I thought I'd escaped this when I left UK!
As I write this we have had thumping disco music from a party next door which has been going on for 24 hours.... yes, actually right through the night! The daughter of the family concerned came round yesterday to warn me that they would be having a party; when I asked what time it would finish she said it would go on all night. I was concerned because it is within 4 metres of our bedroom window. I went to see the family and asked that the noise be turned off at 1am, plenty late enough considering that I have to sleep at some point. They were unwilling to compromise. I need to know what my rights are before I make any other moves, but at the moment my wife and I are tearing our hair out, not only have we had a sleepless night but we've still got the thumping noise which we can hear in all parts of the house; there's no escape other than to go out. Yes, we could go out, but with a night's sleep missing I'm likely to drive off the road.
So, are there noise abatement regulations here or not? Do I approach the monsieur maire and ask him to come and sample the noise? Can I prevent it in future?
Sid
Thump, thump thump, thump......
Sid you have my every sympathy. Is this a one off or do they play this music at thumping volumes on a regular basis? You can approach the Maire on this if it is a regular thing and find out what your heures Arrette are, regions do vary, I know this as I recently did a thread on our noisy neighbour( DIY noises, just as annoying)
What le Maire did say to us when we explained our predicament was that he would speak with the neighbour involved and ask for some consideration as our Hours are between 10pm and 06.30 am , which in efect means he can use his drills ,hammers, sanders and what have you at anytime during the day! He also said that is they did do any noisy work during the night(they did three nights in a row untill 2 am in the morning and thought I was strange for asking if they had nearly finished!) that we should phone the Gendarmes, fortunatly I havn't had to do this as I think M Le Maire said his piece.
Do you have any other neighbours? ask them if they know the Heures Arrette..........or failing that if the noise does continue tonight after11pm I should phone the Gendarmes anyway as I am sure that they should be quiet by that time.
I am typing this quietly, not my usual clattering style........sshhhhhhhhh
Opas
It is a one-off... I hope! At least, we've had no problems before. It's made all the more difficult as we're just two adjacent properties and no one else is affected. They have chosen to hold this gathering at the point which is closest to our house, even though there is plenty of other space away from us, which makes it all the more inconsiderate. I certainly don't want to spoil anyone's fun, but I do need my beauty sleep!
I had no idea that there were any heures arrete , so that's a good start. I think it's probably too late for this weekend now, but I'll make some enquiries at the mairie so that if it happens again I'll be better prepared. As I said to the neighbour, I don't think it unreasonable to ask for quiet after say 1:00am, but by now I totally zonked out! It must be hell living near Glastonbury!
We have a disco club about a km from us which operates on Friday and Saturday nights. Fortunately we are so positioned that we dont hear it very much. The thing that I noticed was that it goes on until 5am, which I think is much later than in UK ( or am I showing my age ! ). The type of music they seem to play is not so " beaty " as in UK, sounds like UK was before the current overseas influence started.
I have sympathy with your plight however, a quiet life is I think one of the reasons people move here. Most of our visitors say " isnt it so quiet here, and so dark !"
Regards
John
Boldly going ( gone ! ) where hundreds of people have gone before !!
I am sure it is ghastly but for the sake of good neighbour relations, I think it would be best to ignore it. If, it is only for the one night. At least the daughter did come around and warn you. The continentals generally seem to have a different noise level tolerance - barking dogs, loud voices etc. No offence is meant, but it cam nearly drive you insane.
It would probably be a good idea to have all information up your sleeve for the future if it should start occurring on a regular basis.
Our very close neighbours had a party, to which we were invited, which went on nearly all night, with people sleeping in tents in the garden. We were not bothered as it was a "one-off".
Hope you have now caught up with your lost sleep.
The best parties don't start till after midnight , wish i was there , personally i would rather be there dancing on tables rather than getting wound up about complaining, OK if it was every weekend ... the usual complaint is that france is boring nice to hear young people are having some fun. Personally I love thump thump thump
Yup, I agree with that, artisananunique.
If it was every weekend I would be dreading the weekend, but 1am is very early to expect things to wind down; I would expect things to be really getting going at that time, and yes, a good party would go on all night, and a fantastic party would go on all day too
If it is once or twice a a year, I can't see the problem, especially as they have alerted you..
OK, so the party went on longer than you expected. You imposed your idea about how long a party should last, or rather, you had it in mind. Perhaps you are beyond the first flush of youth. Or, like me, quite a way beyond it?
What on earth made you think young French people had less stamina than young Brits? I would love to hear the answer to this question.
The fact that they alerted you, to me, indicates you have considerate, but not fortune-telling, young neighbours. Did you ask them again, to turn the music down, or did you give up at 1pm?
You may not have spent a Bastille Day here? If not, I can assure you it is 4 years to 94 year olds that will be keeping you awake. Time to get some ear plugs. They really work!
Tresco
Couldn't agree more. I wish I'd posted so robustly the first time.
Sid, you're overreacting, this isn't a case for taking official action; just because you think France should be quiet all the time doesn't mean it should be. I'd be careful of treading on toes here.
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