Béziers: the loudspeakers installed between rue Viennet and place de la Révolution divide

Anaïck et Géraldine, à l’origine de la pétition. – Mathilde Jullien

L’un des haut-parleurs installés rue Viennet. – Mathilde Jullien

Installed by the municipality since July 22nd at the request of several restaurateurs, these loudspeakers, intended for entertainment, have aroused the disapproval of some local residents who have launched a petition.

It was on the morning of July 22nd that Anaïck, owner of a building on rue Viennet, in the heart of Béziers, a stone's throw from the Saint-Nazaire cathedral, discovered that loudspeakers were being installed by a private company. A device she had not been informed about: “One morning, I opened my window and saw technicians installing cables to hang speakers.”I called the mayor, Robert Ménard, to tell him that the city's entertainment should not be to the detriment of residents.”We want these speakers removed.”

“Our petition has collected 50 signatures”

For fear of repeated nuisances, the owner displays a radical opposition which led her to launch a petition with her daughter Géraldine, who runs her engraving workshop at n° 5 of the street: “A meeting was held between the municipality and the shopkeepers but we were not invited. Here, there are mainly restaurants, we do not see the use of these loudspeakers. Our petition collected 50 signatures, including about twenty from local residents who do not want background music all the time. We are in a protected area, what we must highlight is the architectural beauty, that of the heritage and the residential calm."

Restaurateurs at the initiative of this request for animation

However, this request for sound animation comes from several restaurateurs on rue Viennet and place de la Révolution. It was following a meeting held on July 4 with the town hall that the decision was made to set up these devices, explains Pierre Farats, manager of the Brasserie du Palais: “We felt disadvantaged compared to the hypercentre. Since they were installed, it's much more pleasant, we have background sound, it calms people down, and then the volume is not loud. When you live in the city, you have to accept the small inconveniences and put yourself in the shopkeepers' shoes. Let the petition circulate, okay, but don't let this little boost be taken away from us, especially since we have suffered a drop in attendance and turnover due to the sound and light show being moved to the Madeleine”.

Beziers City Hall open to discussion about loudspeakers

Faced with this disapproval, the Béziers town hall, questioned on this subject by Anaïck in particular, wants to reassure: “Our aim is to create a commercial circuit that links the cathedral to the centre, and to put the restaurateurs of the hypercentre on an equal footing with those of the Place de la Révolution district. In Rue Viennet, 244,156 people were counted during July and August. This is not so far from the number of visitors to Rue du 4-Septembre, where more than 297,000 people passed through. The volume will be adjusted intelligently, and we have planned a web radio that will broadcast various songs so that there are no repetitions. There are no plans to remove these speakers, but we are listening to everyone, and if we reopen the discussion on this subject, it will be with residents and merchants.

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