Row over fine for boy’s music

LISTENING to music on your MP3 player or through your mobile phone at a railway station could land you in trouble.

According to Le Figaro, SNCF has used a 1942 regulation, which bans travellers from using “sound equipment or instruments” at stations to justify a €45 fine handed down to a 16-year-old boy for playing his music too loud at Reims’ railway station.

The penalty has set his family on a collision course with SNCF.

On May 20 last year, the teenager was fined for playing music on his mobile phone too loudly at the station in Reims.

The sound from the headphones the boy was wearing annoyed nearby passengers, who complained to officers at the railway police station.

He did not have the money to pay right away, so an additional €30 fee was added.

For nearly a year, the teenager’s parents have refused to pay the fine. With additional costs, the fine now stands at €300.

The boy’s father, Laurent Thomas, told France 3: “The fine is excessive - €75 for headphones is ridiculous.”

But SNCF said in a statement that the fine was issued as the teenager’s actions disturbed the “tranquility and comfort” of other railway users.

Photo: France 3