Each summer, the same scenario is repeated in many Tunisian cities: the sun sets, the heat falls, and the streets come alive … until excess. Cry of children playing ball until midnight, howling music during family festivals, untimely horns, cafes overflowing on the public highway with full volume enclosures … What do the authorities do?
The din sets in, and with it a deep discomfort. Because if the summer atmosphere is supposed to be synonymous with relaxation and conviviality, it, for many, becomes a real sound ordeal.
In certain working -class districts as in more residential areas, sidewalks and roads are transformed each evening into playgrounds. The children, left to themselves, extend their races and their cries well after the usual sleep hours.
Endless festivals!
To this childish agitation is added another form of noise: that of private festivals that invade public space. Engagement, weddings, birthdays or simple evenings between neighbors give rise to the wild installation of tents, projectors and huge speakers in the street. The music is linked to a deafening volume until late at night. Local residents have no choice but to undergo.
The cafes, too, participate in this thunderous atmosphere. Some, taking advantage of the lack of control, install powerful speakers, organize broadcasts of matches or broadcast popular music playlists until two in the morning. In several cities, establishments do not comply with closing hours or neighborhood rules.
A right to a healthy environment
Why such a relaxation? Several factors can explain it. First, a certain cultural tolerance with noise, often perceived as a sign of life, joy, even virility. Next, not applied legislation. If Tunisian law evokes the right to a healthy environment, it remains unclear and difficult to enforce. Local authorities, often overwhelmed or little inclined to intervene in cases deemed “minor”, let it go. And when the police are called, his intervention is often late, even absent.
But should you resign yourself to living every summer in the din? Several avenues of solutions exist, it still takes a political will to implement them. First, strengthen municipal regulations in terms of noise and require their strict application.
This implies providing the municipalities with control means, including the possibility of verbalizing offenders. Then, organize awareness campaigns, especially with young people and parents, on the harmful effects of noise, both on health and on social cohesion. It is also necessary to create or reopen over -controlled night leisure spaces for young people, such as cultural or sports centers accessible after 10 p.m.
What does the law say?
Omar Ennaifer, director of hygiene and environmental protection at the municipality of Tunis, recalled that the fight against noise pollution is based on a municipal decree dating from August 22, 2002.
According to him, in summer, noise is strictly prohibited during nap hours, set from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., from July 1 to September 15. For establishments open to the public, noise pollution is prohibited from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The holiday rooms, however, benefit from a derogation allowing them to maintain the noise until 1 a.m. Finally, the celebrations organized in private homes must imperatively obtain a prior municipal authorization.
Read also: Tunisia – Manouba: compulsory closure of holiday rooms from midnight
