when disagreement turns into war

It often starts with a lawn mower that is too noisy, a poorly maintained common wall, or even trash cans that obstruct passage. Quarrels which make neighbors irreconcilable and which sometimes degenerate. Threats, violence, legal proceedings… What outcomes are possible when neighborhood conflicts turn into war? A situation that Vincent Polsinelli knows well. A simple dispute over a right of way led him to buy toy weapons after being attacked, he says, by his neighbors.

“We think about it during the day, we think about it at night, we live in anxiety”, assures the one whose head and rib injuries earned him 5 days of sick leave. It took six years, several complaints and two appearances in court for Vincent Polsinelli to finally win his case. Although there are no official figures on these conflicts which clog up the courts, a recent study suggests that nearly a quarter of owners say they are in conflict with their neighbor.

Noise remains the most common problem. For Me Christophe Sanson, these seemingly minor conflicts are not anecdotal: “This goes very far because (…) behind it we also have a devaluation of the house in the event of sale, it becomes very complicated”. Mediation solutions can sometimes be put in place.