At the behest of the Paris mayor’s office, squads of mimes will now be deployed in an effort to reduce the city’s nighttime noise pollution.
Um, come again?
Yes, “Pierrots de la Nuit” use street performance to encourage partiers to keep it down. Paris launched the project this past weekend.
Hmm. Here my love of quirkiness is in conflict with my discomfort/fear of clowns and mimes. I also wonder if having a mime trying to shh people might actually risk more rowdiness. I mean, it might be difficult to ignore the mime even though he or she is silent (ah, that’s power!), but might it not tap into some sort of rebellion, too?
It’s all done in good humor, of course. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.
The following video is in French, but provides a few key visuals.
On that note, I’m off to the City that Never Sleeps for most of April. I might encounter mimes there (because you can encounter any and every thing in New York – one of the reasons I love it!), but I somehow feel safer in the knowledge that mimes aren’t yet an organized noise-reducing tactic in NYC.
Have a joyous month. If you don’t hear from me for awhile, know that it’s because I’m out exploring and enjoying my trip. (Or maybe a mime has stolen my voice!)
To read more about the “Pierrots de la Nuit” initiative, here’s the article from ARTINFO. There’s also a dedicated blog and Facebook page.
What do you think? Night mimes: good idea or childhood nightmare come true?
paris (im)perfect 