Senators voted to approve the law, which was passed by the lower house of parliament last year on Thursday, according to a statement from Joël Giraud, the Minister of Rural Affairs.
Giraud said he celebrated the approval of the law, which aims to “define and protect the sensory heritage of the French countryside”.
A better understanding of the “sounds and smells” typical of rural areas will be helpful in “preventing disagreements between neighbors,” the statement continues.
Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, in western France, was the rural community at the center of the 2019 Maurice the Rooster trial.
Hemis / Alamy
Regional authorities will be tasked with defining “the rural heritage, including its sensory identity,” said Giraud.
“It is a real victory for rural communities,” he added. “Do your part, we will preserve the field.”
France has seen an increasing number of social conflicts between long-time residents of rural communities and newcomers.
An emblematic case involved a rooster named Maurice, who was put on trial in July 2019 after neighbors complained about his morning crowing.
However, a court in Rochefort, western France, dismissed neighbors’ complaints about noise pollution and ordered them to pay € 1,000 (about $ 1,200) for damages.
The case came to symbolize the growing divisions between rural and urban France, as the neighbors were residents of the city who visited Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron only a few times a year.
“He is a rooster. Roosters want to sing,” said Corinne Fesseau, who owned Maurice at the time of the trial.
“This is the field. We must protect the field, ”he added.
Christophe Sueur, mayor of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, told CNN that the verdict was “common sense”, adding: “I am totally in favor of preserving French traditions. The rooster’s cry is a French tradition that needs to be preserved . “