They are part of our everyday life, to such an extent that we sometimes forget that they exist, lost in the ambient cacophony.
However, their disappearance marks us, and their return makes us smile.
“
They
” are these little noises, sometimes hated, sometimes cherished, which punctuate the hours of professionals, residents and consumers, every day.
From the hubbub of conversations punctuated by laughter to chants echoing late at night, through the grunts of effort of sportsmen and the whispers of visitors to a museum, panorama of a discreetly remarkable aspect of deconfinement in Paris.
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In this little bistro in Batignolles, we once again welcome dining room customers. As you lean on the bar for a few minutes, you can hear the clicking of cutlery, the hurried footsteps of the staff bustling around the tables, the hushed discussions of customers, the whistling of the coffee machine, the staff calling out to each other. A classic panorama, but which had disappeared from the landscape for many months. Wiping a myriad of freshly washed glasses, a waitress admits to being glad to find a pre-Covid look. "
For us, everyday life is the noise of machines, the espresso machine, the crockery that is piled up
", underlines the young woman.
A little further, in front of the town hall of the borough, the manager of a bar whose terrace spans the beautiful place Richard Baret says with a smile that he was done very quickly on the return of these sounds enamelling the life of a coffee maker.
His team had no problem getting back to work, on the contrary: “
we were all happy to see it again.
The silence was strange
, especially on Saturday mornings
”: without the ballet of the staff setting up the terrace, the squeaking of chairs being dragged, the clinking of glasses being transported, the place was quite empty.
"
Now she's coming to life,
" he adds, one eye on the many occupied tables outside.
Joy of return
In museums, as in the Louvre, for a few days now, we have found this background noise of discreet conversations, whispered in front of the works.
In the cinema, the discussions before and after the film, an
occasional
"
hush
" interrupting anyone who dares to speak during the screening.
In the sports halls, the breath of subscribers exercising on the machines, covered by background music.
Read also: “We needed it”: at Parc Astérix, visitors get back to thrills
Professionals confess their relief to find the "
chaos
" of normal activity. A frenzy they had lost during confinement. “
We missed the noise of the dishes, the hubbub of conversations. We bathe in it every day, it's our job and we like it,
”says the manager of the Saint-Augustin brewery, in the 9th arrondissement. “
After a while, we don't even pay attention to it anymore
,” the crash becomes an almost reassuring background purr, pleasing to the ear, she considers.
"
It's part of the daily life of an establishment: it moves, it's dynamic, it calls out, there is sometimes a rant ...
", comments the owner of a small neighborhood bistro, right bank , wiping his knives.
This atmosphere was also missed by customers, she says.
For this manager of a bar-tobacco, near the Place de Clichy, it is above all the “
pshiit-bling
” of the bottle opener opening a bottle that
sets the
pace for the day.
That, and the conversations: outside, his employee is chatting and laughing with a client.
A sometimes difficult recovery
During confinement, "
people were a little addicted to silence
", however abnormal in a metropolis, notes a restaurateur. An exact statement: the cessation of activities has led to a drop in decibels and "
an unusual silence
" in the Paris region, according to Bruitparif. A particularly notable fall in the festive places of the capital, such as the Butte-aux-cailles or Châtelet. The usual cacophony of city life was even replaced, for a time, by birdsong, which could be heard chirping again.
With deconfinement, the sound level becomes higher again and can surprise or even displease. If some are happy to find these noises, others live it with anguish. Nothing abnormal, indicates Sébastien Hof, psychologist and psychotherapist in Besançon: “
before, there was an ambient noise present in the big cities, which we had integrated. It is our matter, as humans, to assimilate ourselves to our environment. We filtered out these noises in our daily life. During containment, these filters fell. There, we have so lost the habit of hearing these sounds that this sound level is not so easy to accept
”, while it remains below the classic levels recorded before the pandemic.
"It is part of the daily life of an establishment: it moves, it is dynamic, it is called out, there is sometimes a rant ..."
The owner of a small bistro in the Parisian neighborhood.
The finding is double-edged, emphasizes the professional: on the one hand, the return of these noises indicates normality, life, activity, discussions, social life. On the other hand, “
it can be a source of difficulty in concentrating and sleeping, generating fatigue and irritation
”, both at work and at home. A particularly unpleasant situation for those who live near crowded terraces in the evening, and who have lost the habit of hearing revelers in their street. "
A certain type of population came to terms with this silence, and may find themselves confronted with this mass of noise which had not been heard for a long time
", indicates the expert. "
It is especially for the neighbors that it will be complicated
», Confirms a waitress in the 17th arrondissement.
So how do you get used to this new normal again?
Sébastien Hof advises “
not to focus
” on noise, especially if it disturbs sleep.
"
If you focus on it, it's worse, you have to focus your attention on something else
."
The psychologist also suggests an "
exercise
": "
if I hear a jackhammer that bothers me, I try to mix it with something that I find pleasant so that it gives the rhythm of a less disturbing and less annoying sound. disturbing
”, describes the expert.
People living near noisy bars have a little time to prepare: the curfew remains relevant for a few more weeks and at least partially preserves their nights. Already, customers are reluctant to leave at the deadline, several bars report to us, which see it as proof of a desire to continue the party throughout the night.
