There's nothing like the colorful houses of Paris's Rue Crémieux, the streets of Burano in Venice or those of Chefchaouen in Morocco to give a town a touch of cachet and cheerfulness to the daily lives of its inhabitants. In Montrouge, a town in the Hauts-de-Seine region of France, the local council has taken a positive view of this rather gaudy trend and is calling on local homeowners to repaint their houses, to add a little nuance to the usual gray, beige or white facades.
On a voluntary basis, as there is no financial assistance from the town hall, Montrougian homeowners are invited to spruce up their facades to make them more attractive, and todare to use color, in the words of mayor Etienne Lengereau. However, overly garish colors are likely to pose a problem, as you still have to submit your chosen hue to the town's urban planning commission, which has the power to approve or reject it. While the mayor tells Le Figaro that no color has yet been banned, care must be taken with the quality of the building, especially if it's located in a listed area.
"In Montrouge, we consider that each building, each house is like a subtle touch, under an artist's brush, that paints the urban landscape. And your renovation is not an isolated act. It's part of the collective work, part of the beauty of your city", it says on the city's website, which therefore believes that color makes for more pleasant strolls for everyone, residents and tourists alike. Today, only around twenty buildings have been coloured for several years.
Location
Montrouge
92120 Montrouge
92120 Montrouge
