may not rely on public policy to prohibit certain noises of conduct arising from groupings of persons, without specifying the duration or intensity of such conduct. That's what the Conseil d'État said.
In 2015, the mayor of Saint-Étienne issued an order prohibiting
any abusive and prolonged occupation of the streets and other dependencies
.
The order prohibited the grouping of more than two dogs in the streets of the city or a group of more than three people, to emit sounds of conversation and music that would be audible by passers-by.
Although the municipality invokes an increase in delinquency to justify the adoption of such an order, the Conseil d’État does not share this view. It annuls the provisions at issue because such prohibitions would infringe on the freedom to come and go. Such measures are disproportionate as soon as they are taken
for a period of three months, with no time limit [...] in a wide geographical area
