The true horror stories in modern Paris Part 24

I cannot describe the physical appearance of Mr. Pride and Mme. Empathy in this true story.  I have had to modify minor details of the situation so as to hide their identity, but this I can say.  They would look at you as their preys and the air around you feel heavier.  Out of fear you feel compelled to please them as they chat you up as if you are special.  But the moment you contradict them, their eyes widen up with a fierce glare, I later learnt.

The restaurant needs a ventilator, a huge one that emits non-stop loud noise.  The chefs would find it loud also but the air gets sucked into the ventilator, and then vibrates up the extracting pipe.  The chefs are not exposed to the vibration that travels upwards, but it is the residents upstairs who get hit with the full force of it.  Therefore, restaurant owners with conscience would install the extractor on their sidewall.  I have seen one in this bistro near Pont Mirabeau.  It was run by an honest looking man and his wife. 

Other conscious restaurant owners would hang the ventilator from the ceiling, but Mme. Empathy opted to install hers directly on the ceiling.  It is done in commercial buildings where the upstairs would be occupied by offices, but to do so in a residential building is not recommendable.  Particularly in an old historical building with wooden beams on the ceiling will not block the noise like cement or plaster walls.  Therefore PASU requires a proper insulation to be applied to the kitchen ceiling.  Mme. Empathy gladly submitted that this was done, but as you would guess it, was another lie.  Did she care that the resident upstairs in the small studio would have no place to sleep but the spot over her ventilation that would be roaring like an airplane engine while scorching the victim with heat during the summer?  Of course not.  In her mind only she existed in the world.

You would wonder ‘the architect must have told her the ramification.’  Well, the fees of employing an architect is so expensive in Paris that people opt for cheaper interior designers who are not by law responsible for the infrastructure.  Their job is to make the place look gorgeous only and if someone gets electrocuted and dies as the result of a bad configuration, that will not be their fault.  Besides, PASU gives only 2 months to the neighboring residents to contest the infrastructure of the restaurant.  If you have missed it, or did not have enough money to hire a lawyer, you would be stuck with an inferno.  The value of the property crushes and the restaurant owner would scoop it up.  With the new upstairs apartment they have acquired for a dirt cheap price, they can apply for a non-stop 24 hours continuous business license.  It is the true horror dark side of Paris.

You may not care so long as you get served as a client, but how much honest would such a heartless restaurant owner be to their clients?   I saw them serve powdered mushed potato and lie to their clients as fresh food establishment.  

To be continued.

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