Paris-Orly residents protest against plane noise rise
Residents living near Paris-Orly airport have protested against aeroplane noise, and called for longer nighttime airport hours to give them more quiet time to sleep.
Around 500 people gathered around Orly peacefully to draw attention to the issue, under the banner of residents group, the Association Défense Riverains Aéroport Paris Orly (DRAPO), which represents 40 local communes and 30 smaller associations in the local area.
Several elected officials also took part, including MP of Essonne, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan; president of the departmental council of Essonne, François Durovray; and mayor of Sucy-en-Brie and vice-president of the Ile-de-France region Marie-Carole Ciuntu.
The group presented some major grievances, in particular the call for a longer nighttime curfew for planes flying in and out of the airport.
Gérard Bouthier, president of DRAPO, said: “The State does not want to take our health issues into consideration. We have the right to eight hours of calm. From 23h to 6h, that is not eight hours.
“For the past two summers, we have noticed a rise in aeroplane noise - and we have instruments that allow us to measure it - and, with the discussions happening around the privatisation of Orly, we feel that all of this is not going to result in a reduction of noise.”
