From crowing roosters to the whiff of barnyard animals, the "sensory¹ heritage" of France's countryside will now be protected by law from attempts to stifle² the everyday aspects of rural life from newcomers looking for peace and quiet.

 

从公鸡的打鸣声到农场动物的臭味，从现在开始，法国乡村的“感官遗产”将受到法律保护，阻止新近搬到乡村居住的人为了寻求平和宁静对乡村日常生活的方方面面进行压制。

 

French senators on Thursday gave final approval to a law proposed in the wake of several high-profile conflicts by village residents and vacationers, or recent arrivals derided³ as "neo-rurals".

 

A rowdy rooster named Maurice, in particular, made headlines in 2019 after a court in western France rejected a bid to have him silenced by neighbours who had purchased a holiday home nearby.

 

"Living in the countryside implies accepting some nuisances," Joël Giraud, the government’s minister in charge of rural life, told lawmakers.

 

Cow bells (and cow droppings), grasshopper⁴ chirps⁵ and noisy early-morning tractors are also now considered part of France’s natural heritage that will be codified⁶ in its environmental legislation.

 

"It sends a strong message," said Pierre-Antoine Lévi, the senator who acted as rapporteur for the bill. "It can act as a useful tool for local officials as they carry out their educational and mediation⁷ duties."

 

The law is emblematic⁸ of growing tensions in the countryside between longtime residents and outsiders whose bucolic⁹ expectations often clash with everyday realities.

 

Corinne Fesseau and her rooster Maurice became the image of the fight when she was brought to court by pensioners¹⁰ next door over the bird’s shrill¹¹ wake-up calls.

 

Critics saw the lawsuit¹² as part of a broader threat to France's hallowed rural heritage by outsiders and city dwellers¹³ unable or unwilling¹⁴ to understand the realities of country life.

 

Thousands of people signed a "Save Maurice" petition, and a judge eventually upheld the cock-a-doodle-doos.

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