Bells of the Cows, Melody of the Mountains or Noisy Nusiance?

In the midst of Bangkok's symphony of noises, Quiet Bangkokian sometimes dreams of quiet Summer days in the mountain with only the delightful sound of a cowbell in the distance......

In a small French mountain village called “Huguets” there is total stand off between farmer Pascal Francoz and his neighbor, Daniel Brault. The bells of the peaceful cows of the first agitate day and night under the windows of the second who is a draftsman. The ringing of the bells are the origin of a bitter quarrel between the two which with the passing of years has become the symbol of a battle between rural and urban people. The bells are an “instrument of work” and the “music of our mountains”, proclaims the farmer with the support of all agricultural organizations. A “harmful sound effect”, retorts his neighbor, citing in support medical and social expertise, according to which the noise exceeds the tolerance level by 5 decibels.

The matter was brought, on Thursday October 5, before the judge of the magistrates' court of Aix-the-Baths. Arriving with his supporters to the sound of cowbells, Pascal Francoz deposited an inoffensive small bell with crystalline tinkling on the desk of his lawyer, while Daniel Brault exhibited on his side a model having a definitely less delicate sound. “This lawsuit is not a lawsuit against the bells, nor against pastoralism”, asssured his lawyer, Me François Bern, to indignant exclamations of the public. “We like the bells which are part of the Savoyard culture. The noise of the bells is a melody for those who walk in mountains. But when it enters on your premise, in your living room, in your bed room. [“Ouh! Ouh!” shouted the public], when it is there in the morning when one rises, at midday when one has lunch, the evening when one lies down, and one does not manage to find sleep… then it becomes a harmful effect. The cows have an undeniable talent. But if Rostropovitch came to play the violoncello under my windows, the first evening, I would be charmed, the second a little less, and if it continued on every day and every night of the year, I am sure that that would finish by my boiling over completely! “, he observed. Against the farmer, who has “7 hectares of ground” and who refuses, according to him, to take “minimal measurements”, the lawyer asked the court to impose a perimeter on the animals and to grant 4.000 euros of damages to Daniel Brault. In response to these arguments, Me Pierre Perez, the lawyer of the farmer, answered by exhibiting the certificates of several neighbors, certifying on their honour that “in the memory of man” the cows of Saint-Offenge-Below always carried cowbells, and that “they had never caused annoyance to anyone”. His client, he affirmed, showed goodwill, by withdrawing right now about fifteen bells leaving only a few to tinkle on the necks of his animals. In response to the expert opinions offered he opposed the counter-evaluation of the mayor - “the poor mayor spent almost the whole night there! ”. he concluded with a gentle sigh. “It is thus with serenity that I ask you to reject the complaint of the plaintiff and to advise him to settle elsewhere”, concluded Me Perez. Into his file for the judge, he inserted a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal of Riom on September 7, 1995, which rejected a complaint for “abnormal disorders of the vicinity” deposited against the owners of one hen house: “Considering the hen is a harmless and stupid animal, so much so that no one has succeeded in training it, not even a Chinese circus; that its vicinity comprises much silence, apart from some tender clucks and cackles that range from a merry sound (laying of an egg) to serene (tasting of an earth worm), unless thrown into a panic (seeing of a fox); that this peaceful vicinity could inconvenience only those who, for other reasons, nourish a grudge against the owners of these chickens. The court will not judge on the complaints of the boat against the sailor, the flour against the baker, the violin against the leader of the orchestra, or the inhabitant of the locality against a hen”.

For the bell and the neighbor, the court decision will be given on November 7.

As reported in Le Monde, 7th October 2006