Not so nice

The not so nice things about Nice begin to get on my nerves; worst are the "deux roues" - motorbikes/scooters - which are SO popular here (sadly), and, of course, very practical; especially in a place with such a good climate - and currently with many roads closed till the tramway is finally finished. But the result is that a walk through the centre of the city is a constant aural assault. Sometimes it sounds like a moto-cross competition.



It's the same as nearby Marseille:

"...les deux roues sont une véritable calamité...(sauf bien entendu tous ceux qui sont respectueux du code); outre le bruit lié aux pots traffiqués, il y a celui lié aux accélérations (souvent à + de 80 Kmh = + de 100 Dcb) ... "

http://www.mairie-marseille.fr/jforum/posts/list/714.page

It is a very serious health problem:

Adverse Health Effects

'The effects of excessive motorcycle noise on the health and welfare of the general public are well documented. The EPA became concerned about the issue of motorcycle noise when it became evident that in every survey, motorcycle noise is over-represented in the interruptions of people's everyday activities...

"Exposure to noise causes stress. The body has a basic primitive response mechanism, which automatically reacts to noise as if to a warning or danger signal. A complex series of bodily reactions to noise (some times called "flight of fight" response) takes place; these reactions are beyond conscious control...

The automatic "flight or fight" reaction can also happen to unsuspecting citizens while they sleep. A single loud motorcycle riding by at night is all it takes to be awakened from a pounding heart and an adrenaline reaction. The secondary effects include: exhaustion, fatigue, depressed mood or well-being, and decreased work performance thoughout the day 4-3.

"Stress [from noise] can be manifested in any number of ways, including headaches, irritability, insomnia, digestive disorders, and psychological disorders. Workers who are exposed to excessive noise frequently complain that noise just makes them tired 4-4."

Numerous studies indicate that there may be some risk of increased rates of high blood pressure and other cardiovascular health problems for people exposed to noise-induced stress...

One cannot escape, even in the small streets of the old town - scooters and motorbikes weave amongst the pedestrians, and when they have a few metres clear, they accelerate with a howl or a roar. As the report says "Additionally, noise above 80dba may increase aggressive behavior in people" - I have fantasies about using guns :-)


Dirty dogs

Then there is the dog-shit - worse than in Paris (where the number of dogs has declined in recent years and the cleaning seems to be more efficient). This means that one has to keep looking at the pavement or road and constantly seeing the shit. Cf.:

Ce que je n'aime pas à Nice "Les touristes qui se croient tout permis, qui salissent ma Ville, la dégrade sans aucune pudeur. Les crottes de chiens (moi-même j'en ai deux et toujours des sacs plastique pour ramasser)."

L'avis de Chantal Bodin (ROSOY) sur la ville de Nice (février 2007)

Ce que je n'aime pas à Nice "Les automobilistes qui grillent les feux rouges, qui ne laissent pas passer les piétons. Les crottes de chiens sur le trottoir ...

L'avis de Nathalie (Nice) (janvier 2007)

Fighting smokers

Smokers have been banned in public places in France, but we get more smokers on the pavements outside the places where they are banned - particularly outside schools and colleges at break times, where pupils block the pavement.

Some smokers don't give a damn; today in the middle of very blocked traffic, a girl suddenly stopped right in front of us, causing us to have to pull into an already crowded lane. She had also parked on yellow lines, leaving her friends in the car, to join a long queue of other pathetic addicts outside a tabac. I hope it was a very long wait - but I pity the other motorists who were slowed by this smoker's selfishness.

Even worse, Nice-Matin reports that a female smoker lit up in the non-smoking area of a restaurant in the Promenade des Anglais the other day. A woman objected and they exchanged insults. Two members of staff tried to calm the women but couldn't, so left them and went to get the manager. A mistake, N-M says, because the women started again and their men got involved and the police arrived. In the pushing and shoving that followed, a glass milk got spilled - and ruined some poor, foreign guy's portable computer ! All for a bloody cigarette ! The reaction of the French female smoker was probably: "Well he shouldn't be using a computer in a restaurant."

Roll on 2008 when the ban applies to cafes and restaurants too - doubtless with more selfish smokers trying to defend their "rights" by polluting others' air. La Coupole in Paris has applied its own ban, from last June, and it seems to have had little trouble, nor loss of numbers of customers - and we non-smokers don't have to leave smelling of smokers' noxious drug, nor listen to their wheezing coughs.

"Still, about 12 million of the French — about 20 percent of the population — are smokers, according to official government figures, and more than 70,000 people die in France every year from smoking-related illnesses and secondhand smoke."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/world/europe/06france.html