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Corinne Fesseau and her rooster Maurice in their garden of Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron on June 5th, 2019. XAVIER LEOTY / AFP

This summer, the judicial troubles against the cries of a cock in Charente-Maritime in the west of France, agitated the news and raised the question of the rural habits. Thursday, September 5 in the morning, the Criminal Court of Rochefort rendered a rather original judgment. The cock Maurice is allowed to sing.

" We stole them in the feathers! "Rejoiced Corinne Fesseau this morning after his victory at the court of Rochefort . The legal troubles of the owners of the rooster Maurice in Charente-Maritime in the west of France have enlivened the summer news.

The neighbors of a couple from the island of Oléron, accused the gallinaceous to wake them every morning. Bailiffs have come to see the noise of the volatile, but have not established the proof of a real nuisance. The court therefore ordered the neighbors to pay 1,000 euros in damages and to reimburse the legal costs of the owners of Mauritius. A decision that ends two years of neighborhood conflict.

This rooster with the beautiful red crest has become a symbol of the struggle of rurality threatened . This event sheds light on a larger problem: that of rural noises. " It's a victory for all people in the same situation as me. I hope that this will make jurisprudence for them "welcomed Corinne Fesseau.

A Mauritius case law ?

In Lozère, a vacationer asked the mayor of a small town to delay the bells ringing so as not to disturb his morning sleep. The defenders of the rural world felt attacked by the different cases, so much so that in the Gard, a mayor reacted. A "French village warning" sign was installed in front of Saint-André-de-Valborgne, stating that " bell towers ring regularly, roosters are singing very early ", and that " farmers are working to feed you ".

Stories that illustrate the feelings of rural people vis-à-vis city dwellers who do not seem to adapt to the realities of the countryside. To find out whether the Mauritius case has finally given reason to supporters of "natural" nuisances, the court of Dax must judge the owners of fifty ducks. The neighbors also considered that the cackling was excessive. This court decision will take place on October 1st.