From crowing roosters to the scent of barn animals, the “sensory heritage” of the French countryside will now be protected by law against attempts to stifle the everyday aspects of rural life from newcomers seeking rest and peace.
French senators on Thursday gave final approval to a law proposed following several high-profile conflicts by residents and holidaymakers in the town, or recent arrivals are considered ‘neo-rural’.
In particular, a rough rooster named Maurice made headlines in 2019 after a court in western France rejected an attempt to silence him by neighbors who bought a nearby holiday home.
“Living in the countryside implies accepting nuisance,” Joël Giraud, the government minister in charge of rural life, told lawmakers.
Cowbells (and cattle manure), locust chirps and noisy tractors early in the morning are also now considered part of France’s natural heritage that will be codified in its environmental legislation.
“It sends a strong message,” said Pierre-Antoine Lévi, the senator who acted as rapporteur for the bill. “It can be a useful tool for local officials as they carry out their education and mediation duties.”
The law is indicative of the growing tension in the countryside between long-term residents and outsiders whose rural expectations often clash with everyday reality.
Corinne Fesseau and her cock Maurice became the image of the fight when she was brought to court by pensioners next door over the shrill waking cries of the bird.
Critics see the lawsuit as part of a broader threat to France’s sacred rural heritage by outsiders and urbanites who cannot or do not want to understand the reality of rural life.
Thousands of people signed a petition “Save Maurice” and finally a judge upheld the cock-a-doodle box.
In another 2019 case, a woman in the heartland of the Landes duck in the Landes region was brought before the court by a newcomer neighbor who was fed up with the chatter of the ducks and geese in her backyard.
A court in southwestern France has also brought the case to the fore.