Everything had been planned for weeks, months even. A snack for the elderly, a trail for the most courageous, tapas, entertainment and the traditional fireworks display. But none of this happened. The Lagor village festival, which should have been held last weekend, was canceled at the last moment. “No one had the heart to celebrate,” whispers Franck Rolland, the mayor of this small town of a thousand souls, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Three days before the start of the festivities, Avelino and Alcina L., 85 and 82 years old, were shot dead in their garden. It didn't take long for the investigators to track down the main suspect: their neighbor, a 90-year-old man, with whom relations had been deleterious for decades.
“Everyone knew that things were going very badly between them but we could not imagine that it would come to such a degree of violence,” insists the councilor. The man admitted the facts in police custody, specifying that he reacted in this way after being the target of insults and stone throwing. A wound was found on the suspect's skull, but its origin is not yet known. “The attacker was in open conflict with his neighbors on each side, there was always a problem with him,” continues Franck Rolland, who describes the suspect as an outsider. According to him, the victims were, on the contrary, very appreciated. “They always tried to fix the situation. »
Conflicts that drag on for years
Taken in isolation, the origin of neighborhood quarrels often seems insignificant. Footsteps that are considered too heavy, a wall considered too high or a washing machine running at an odd hour. Sometimes the situation gets worse because of a tree blocking the sun or a parking space. But these conflicts are understood over time, through repetition. “The tension increases because of wear and tear. A sleepless night is fine, but when it’s every night, the sleep deprivation becomes unbearable,” illustrates Me Christophe Sanson, lawyer specializing in noise pollution.
Recently, he intervened in a conflict between the inhabitants of adjoining houses, at war because of regular parties and too loud music. “The tension was such that no dialogue was possible, even in front of the conciliator,” remembers the black dress. Little by little, words gave way to insults and insults to threats. Those who reported the noise repeatedly discovered bullets in their mailbox and scratches on the car. The investigation is still ongoing.
“These conflicts are often multifactorial”
If the starting point appears trivial, the suffering is often very real, especially when it revolves around noise. A neighbor who plays a trumpet from morning to night or a TV played at full volume at all hours of the day or night can undermine the mental health of those living nearby. “Conflicts that take on significant proportions are generally the result of a mixture of nuisances and poisoned relationships,” analyzes Me Louis Le Foyer de Costil, also specialized in this type of conflict.
And to cite the case of these owners of a house in the countryside, bordered on all sides by a farmer's fields. The building was often the place for big parties, which had the gift of annoying the neighbor... who took great pleasure in depositing manure at the edge of the fields. Was his anger caused by the noise - he did not live nearby - or by resentment at not owning this property? “These conflicts are often multifactorial, all the anger and suffering will crystallize on one point,” analyzes the lawyer.
In Lagor, the conflict had dragged on for at least two decades. There was once a question of parking spaces or right of way. For several months, the dispute had revolved around the wall of a garage on the border of the two properties: the suspect accused the couple of being the cause of leaks in his home. “I intervened to mediate but the attacker didn’t want to hear anything, we couldn’t discuss with him,” insists Franck Rolland. Even the insurer noted that there was no problem with this wall. » The tension was such that the couple's children had a camera installed in their parents' garden. It was also near this low wall that the bodies were discovered.
Conciliation or court
In these neighborhood conflicts, lawyers first propose conciliation: a volunteer then tries to find common ground. If this fails, head to the judicial court for a civil hearing. “Sometimes, the conflict is so latent that the two parties do not want to hear about conciliation and prefer to spend money to go to trial,” continues Me Louis Le Foyer de Costil. One of the great difficulties of what justice calls “abnormal neighborhood disturbance” is to objectify these everyday nuisances. If at the time the expert comes by, the neighbor is not there, is not organizing a party that evening, is not watching TV at full volume, it is impossible to quantify the noise.
City or countryside, pavilion or building, upscale or more disadvantaged neighborhood... No one is safe from seeing their relations with a neighbor deteriorate. “Recently, a couple of lawyers and a couple of magistrates almost came to blows in front of the conciliator,” assures Me Christophe Sanson. Women are not exempt from this violence either. And to cite the example of this customer who was arrested in the elevator while she was going to her neighbor's house with a baseball bat and a tear gas canister.
Neither of these two lawyers has had to deal with cases whose outcome resulted in a crime. On the other hand, both were confronted with situations that escalated, sometimes dangerously. This young father “well in all respects” who, exasperated by the noise, banged on the door with his golf club. This other one who threatened these neighbors with a gun. Most often, it involves fights. “It’s not common, but it happens,” insists Christophe Sanson.
The lawyer is increasingly confronted with death threats on the Internet. He cites the case of this customer who received dozens of emails threatening to throw him into the port if he maintained his procedure. When should you worry? “What is certain is that the longer the conflict lasts, the more it hardens and takes on significant proportions,” insists Me Louis Le Foyer de Costil.
