TAPPAGE BIS -- FRENCH LESSON
Channel: slobomotion
Date: 2014-07-08

"Tappage" means noise from neighbors which is too much, noise nuisance, and "bis" can be added to mean "more of."

This was an accusation of a stolen bike ("vélo") by my immediate neighbors, some black Africans and some Algerians.  Both neighbors leave trash in the hallways, the children are unruly and abused (yes, I have reported it), and everyone leaves their extra stuff in the shared area.  It is forbidden, actually illegal, a hazard, and I cannot get to the trash chute.  I am disabled, often of limited mobility.  I have scars on me from harming myself on the objects in that area.  This goes on and on, year after year.  The noise is often incredible.  The cooking odors are foul.  There is sometimes violence.  

Many of my neighbors in this huge building with three doors, three addresses, a garage under it and many original tenants from '67 are fine.

Some of these people rent, some own.

I put the strong safety latch on and just opened the door a tiny bit to hear better and watch a bit.  It went on for over half an hour.  When I asked the Algerians to please move the two bikes, it was polite and with a smile, and a week later they were finally not there.  Someone still has a caddy (shopping cart) in there, however.  Illegal.  

If you go away, you can get your place squatted, and may lose it.  It's important to have a housesitter.  The ones I have hired have been a Brit, an American, and my idiot French inlaws.  Epic fails.  It is nearly impossible to evict anyone in France.  Before the Algerians, we had these Sri Lankans for years, deadbeats, the place was infested with roaches, the wife did not have shoes and kept threatening to burn the place, and the husband beat her and even the baby.  Of course, I reported this.  Had to take time off from work, wait for the appointment, I lost pay.

When we have a deadbeat here, everyone in the building pays.  There are neither co-ops nor condos here, but rather a French version of ownership.  It's very communal.  Here, the water, heat, cost of the concierge, all building repairs and services are equally paid.  And shared.

There is no title search in France, and the notaire system is often baffling to, say, Americans.

This is at 79, rue de Strasbourg, in Saint-Denis, France, just outside Paris (contiguous border with Paris).  I like our nine-room apartment (the French consider it three rooms, however), although we had to rehab it after a deadbeat legally blind guy disappeared.  There wasn't even a working toilet here.  We paid cash, I paid for more than half of it, and my spouse has been fed up with this situation for a long time, and is always looking for other places, but Saint-Denis has terrific libraries, (Communist, we are the birthplace of Communism here) amenities, wonderful parks, public transportation, good schools (we refuse to breed), one of the largest greenmarkets in Europe three mornings a week (organic is cheaper heren there are still some old, working organic farms here), incredible cultural activities, support for local artists (many left Paris long ago due to high costs), amazing history, museums, sites, universities, a canal district, an island on the Seine with its own town hall, the center city is restricted to cars, bikes are encouraged, they strive to keep artisans and small businesses here, and you can literally walk into Paris from here if you have 45 minutes (otherwise you can ride a bike on the bike paths, take a trawmay, bus or métro, even a commuter train).  So he grumbles.  He was at work when this happened.  He works evenings and nights, and this noise was illegal and highly annoying, disturbing.  I was also afraid to open the door more, really.

Saint-Denis is so huge, it has La Plaine, a center part, the island, and many other nabes.  Enormous and densely populated.  I like having shops and services so close.  

Digital video recording, comments and annotations copyright 2014 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A.
cutecatfaith.com
Dailymotion:  LisaFalour
YouTube:  SLOBOMOTION, CUTECATFAITH