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Article on Montauban publicity combat ............


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Like you Ron, I quite like coming into towns and knowing where to find the supermarket and especially its 24 hour (cheaper) petrol.

Btw, if pressure groups can advertise, what's next?  Political parties?  The mods have a pretty thin line to tread here and the meat of your post is still there for all to see.

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 I'm originally from Biggin  Hill in Kent and I don't recall any 'totems' in that dormitory village or in the (delightful) surrounding countryside.

         In fact, because it was the first country to be industrialised, the UK has always had strong local and national environment and countryside groups - as very early on the scars and the pollution due to industry were there to see. Entire  regions, such as the Lake District, have been kept in the original state for successive generations to enjoy. Not so in France, where giant publicity hoardings are even to be found (in large numbers) in 'protected' regions .......

It's true that  France has a much larger territory, and up until the 1960's was  mainly rural.........

BUT: The dramatic, uncontrolled  extension of  French towns in the past thirty years has led to some of the worst excesses in europe being committed - ribbon commercial development along the 'Nationales', comprising of rapidly thrown up prefabricated shopping outlets has been compared to a  gangrene and the local authorities are at a loss as to how to control it. The gaudy signs and giant hoardings that signal their presence are a national disgrace.

     The loi 'Robien' has led to  (often) shoddily built housing developments (buy and lease schemes) springing up everywhere - the projects being sold to investors hundreds of km's away as a 'good placement' :- many of these housing schemes  are in fact  now standing empty as the demand is not necessarily adapted to the supply.

  Mayors of small villages all over France are being conned into giving planning permission to unscrupulous developpers who throw up a 'lotissement' take the money and run.

Obviously,  raising these subjects goes against a lot of vested interests........Paysages de France is doing a great job  - its active members, who all work and lobby in the open, are used to being subjected to the ire of the unscrupulous developpers and multinational advertising companies who don't like being brought to book when they flout the law.

    What is a lot more surprising to me though, is that there is so much doubt and suspicion raised on this forum, towards an association that works within a legal framework, which is  licensed to go before the administrative courts and is above reproach and highly respected in France.

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                                                                          To protest against the publicity invasion:

                    A whole boulevard of publicity hoardings (6, 4x3m double faced, electronically operated 'déroulant' models)

                                                               will be covered over on Saturday 26 may at Montauban.

                                                                       R/V in front of the Piscine Chambord at 10 am.

                                     The 'bâches' used for the 'récouvrements' are inscribed with antipublicity and anti consumerist slogans

  'En ai je besoin?'        'Obei consomme!'           'Naitre-Consommer -Mourir'          'Ne tombez pas dans le panneau - réagissez'     etc......

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Hi Cooperlola and Ron,

Although I generally rather like your posts and your overall sympathies, would it not be more sensible to lean out your window and ask where the supermarket is, with the cheap petrol.  Seems a little more sensible, even a bit more human.  Those billboards really are ugly, and I defy you to make some kind of aesthetic defense of them as adding something positive to the landscape.  Anyway, don't you both have GPS thingies and can't you interrogate them?

You would be surprised how many people in America give directions in relation to stores and shops.  We don't really want to follow that now, do we? 

Now the Burma Shave signs are something else.  Them I loved.  If only the advertising industry had some values and some standards, but give them an inch and they take a mile.  A bit like capitalism really.  Oh goodness, they are connected.

http://seniors-site.com/funstuff/burma.html

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/burma.htm

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[quote user="Paysages de France"]                                                                          To protest against the publicity invasion:
                    A whole boulevard of publicity hoardings (6, 4x3m double faced, electronically operated 'déroulant' models)
                                                               will be covered over on Saturday 26 may at Montauban.
                                                                       R/V in front of the Piscine Chambord at 10 am.
                                     The 'bâches' used for the 'récouvrements' are inscribed with antipublicity and anti consumerist slogans

  'En ai je besoin?'        'Obei consomme!'           'Naitre-Consommer -Mourir'          'Ne tombez pas dans le panneau - réagissez'     etc......
[/quote]

Is this action legal ? Unless you can assure either me, another mod or admin that it is by 6pm then your message will be deleted.

Please respect the code of conduct on this forum:  http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/465569/ShowPost.aspx

Users must not post messages which:

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For future reference, Regarding your future posts: I have asked admin for clarity on the issue of your posts and the reply was 'Links from sigs are OK, anything else is advertising. 3rd party recommendations only.' If you need help making a clickable link please contact a mod. At present all the other forum rules apply to ALL organisations, not for profit included. Posts that infringe these guidelines will be deleted without further warning.

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"Although I generally rather like your posts and your overall

sympathies, would it not be more sensible to lean out your window and

ask where the supermarket is"

Yes i must try that on the A20, loads of passers by to ask[:P] Much easier on the Autoroute to see a sign in the distance me thinks.

Perhaps old  Paysages de Biggin Hill should ask the French to demolish the Eiffel Tower while he is at it,  it is after all only an advert for the Paris Exhibition.............[Www]

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Well done PdF, Yet another Forum where you have managed to alienate more people than you have promoted to your cause. I wonder if you'll refuse to post on here again ( as you have threatened on other forums) once someone asks you for a realistic alternative to your eco extremists views or to answer questions??

You do have a remarkable way of promoting things.

The billboard debate is only the tip of the iceberg for this shallow, non responsive posters' debates. Next will come his opposition to all economic growth and preaching about how we should all abandon modern lifesyles etc. etc.

YAWN, YAWN, YAWN.

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I'm with smiley, yaaaaaaaaawnnn. 

And with cooperlola, he can have his opinion, but surely just the once or twice is enough, I can imagine this guy as the type who would stand on the high street and preach every Saturday, I can see he feels strongly but once you've read about it once you either agree or you don't... 

Incidently when I was in Spain recently there were many more of these huge signs and so much more of the countryside on the coast has been ruined.... perhaps you could go and do something about that now..

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Quote. "Is this action  legal ? Unless you can assure either me, another mod or admin that it is by 6pm then your message will be deleted."

  In French law, if no damage is caused, there is no prosecution possible.

 Having organised and participated in 15 antipub actions  which involve using plastic 'bâches' to cover over giant publicity hoardings (removed the same day) I can assure you that if it was illegal we wouldn't still be doing it here in Montauban in broad daylight and pre announced each month since Nov 2005!!!!!!!

    The multinational advertising companies would  have had our actions (highly embarassing for them) curtailed straight away if it was in any way illegal.

 

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For all the smiley pandas and their ilk on this forum - I can only imagine that you travel around France with your eyes shut.

.The town entrances are a national disgrace.

    Dozens of  town coucils have been outraged by the fact that  attempts to limit the publicity  anarchy are systematically thwarted by  a concerted onslaught from the multinationals lawyers when even minor  limits are proposed.

 RLP's in (new local publicity laws) have been blocked in  Paris for the past five years and in dozens of other towns throughout the country including mine (Montauban) on minor technicalities, with the sole intention  to hinder and delay adoption of any restraining  laws .

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I guess I am just a Panda that accepts France ( and the UK) for all their quirks and faults rather than one that has chosen to attack them.

I know you are anti economic growth so I guess you wouldn't employ any locals in your restaurant. That might encourage people to drive or spend money, maybe enjoy living?  Heaven forbid that. So please tell us all, simple folks that we are how, we should all change our lives?

I notice you waste the environmental resources we have to keep running your PC etc. and encourage us to give you 10 Eu towards your campaigns. I havn't seen much in the way of alternatives to the way we run our lives though.

Please, no more propaganda for your billboard campaign, Tell us your alternatives for changing the world according to PdF's bible.

What will you do about the third world ( If you advocate no economic growth)?  

How will you stop economic growth in India and China? 

What are your proposals to reduce Co2 emmissions?

What fuels do you use to run your restaurant?

If you can give some answers to these questions then maybe we can start taking you seriously.

PdF, you posted  your environmental  credentials on another forum and it got  deleted when you insulted other members who opposed your ideas and you wouldn't answer questions:

http://www.french-news-forum.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2650&posts=16

Come on PdF, enlighten us with your brilliance.

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 You are grossly mis - informed.

So, once again: from that other forum.........after I said I was leaving it due to the obscene and threatening language from other users.

 From that forum admin:

  "It would be a great pity for all of us if you left this forum. I

know certain members are giving you a hard time--it seems to be in

their nature. However, can you try to ignore them and keep on with your

good work? Everybody has a right to their opinions, and to express them

freely on this forum. But we don't need the constant aggression -- I've

had to send out so many PMs on this subject. Hoping you can stick with

it.

J......

Howdy PdF,

Thought I'd chuck my two ha'pporth in behind J here. Some of the

Forumites are are feeling chuffed at present coz they think they've

stoned the stranger from the gate. Well, the gate isn't exclusively

theirs, for one thing; it's just as much yours. So don't let them drive

you from it. Personally, I agree with most of what you say, and want to

preserve your right and willingness to say it. I know also that you are

active in these matters, whereas for many of the Forumites, the Forum

is all they are.

Stay with us if you can, PdF.

 I also answered point by point the questions relating to the "décroissance" movement ...briefly:

 The French décroissance' movement advocates a scaling down for the rich countries not the poor ones.

 To reduce Co²: petrol price hike, introduce free local public transport, stop motorway building,  give out large grants for home insulation, encourage local consumption over costly and ecologically absurd food importation.

 My restaurant runs on town gas. Solar panels are not allowed in the historic centre of town.

 

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In the first part of the 19th century, the anti slave traders made ordinary people smile; in  the 20th century, the anti arpartheid campaigners and the opponents to white rule in S Rhodesia and the ones that advocated decolonisation and votes for women made people smile - as  did the vegetarians in Britain in the 1970's and 80's (when the meat eaters were being slowly poisoned).

     In Italy and Ireland, people smiled when a smoking ban was mooted (now in full force). In France, the first attempts to ban the guillotine, to  limit drink drivers and  speeding were met with smiles and any criticism of intensive farming techniques were greeted with laughter.

   So, the fact that I make you smile can only be a good sign for the "Décroissance" (anti economic growth) movement.

 

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[quote user="Paysages de France"]In the first part of the 19th century, the anti slave traders made ordinary people smile; in  the 20th century, the anti arpartheid campaigners and the opponents to white rule in S Rhodesia and the ones that advocated decolonisation and votes for women made people smile - as  did the vegetarians in Britain in the 1970's and 80's (when the meat eaters were being slowly poisoned).
     In Italy and Ireland, people smiled when a smoking ban was mooted (now in full force). In France, the first attempts to ban the guillotine, to  limit drink drivers and  speeding were met with smiles and any criticism of intensive farming techniques were greeted with laughter.
   So, the fact that I make you smile can only be a good sign for the "Décroissance" (anti economic growth) movement.
 
[/quote]

Well, I can see where you're coming from PdeF........................not....................[Www]

As a smoker who eats meat, believes in capital punishment, hates self-opinionated people who refuse to accept that anyone should have a different opinion, deplores political correctness, drives a Jeep and rides one of those horrible big motorcycle things, I guess we are never going to share a nice social evening together.

You remind me of a person in the UK who was in dispute with his neighbour over the height of his hedge. This quite trivial dispute (in the greater scheme of things) eventually took over his whole life to a point where he spent all his money and lost his previously good health. He went to his grave prematurely, what a waste.........................

Must stop now, I have another day to try and live life to the full........................................ [:D]

 

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[quote user="Benjamin"]Do you think PdF could be Swampy? Remember him? [:P]

[/quote]

PdF is too old and has been in France too long.  He was also shorter and skinnier and not from Biggn Hill.  REmember he had to crawl down tunnels.  But they would get along fine.

That anti-roads movement was a great one.  Really brilliant.

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How would you feel Bugbear if tomorrow you found out that a motorway was going to be built at the bottom of your lovely garden and that six 10 metre advertising billboards were going to be erected near your driveway?

Would that make you smile do you think?[:)]

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[quote user="TWINKLE"]

How would you feel Bugbear if tomorrow you found out that a motorway was going to built at the bottom of your lovely garden and that six 10 metre advertising billboards were going to be erected near your driveway. 

Would that make you smile do you think?[:)]

[/quote]

I don't know about smiling but I'd be amazed Twinks, we have a river at the bottom of our garden and why would anyone erect billboards one kilometre down a dead-end lane that only us and our eight neighbours use.

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I knew you'd say that[:)]

Eight years ago when I bought this house that's what I thought too.  Now there are 3 'tracés' being proposed for a motorway to be built soon and one of them is near my lovely secluded house which will link onto a huge new road going from Albi to Toulouse which will be and already is cutting through some of the most beautiful countryside in the Tarn.  Properties that were once hidden away will soon be revealed to daily traffic rocketing past their once idyllic beauty spot.  

I am angry and certainly not smiling and am signing petitions that people like Paysages de France are working hard to circulate for people like me and my 10 neighbours.

I hope this never happens to you - and who cares if it happens to others?

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