I live in Cannes, home of the famous Cannes Film Festival. Outside of all the glamour and hype that is Cannes, the residents typically find it a more of a bother, at least I do.

The population of Cannes, around 70000, is said to triple during the festival. So you can imagine that all the hotels, bars, restaurants, clubs, shops, etc. get a huge boost from the extra influx of people. But it also means lots of traffic problems as most of the Croisette is reduced from four to two lanes to make room for all the pavilions and horde of people looking to catch glimpses of celebrities. Parking becomes a nightmare, even in my neighbourhood, as attendees, shop employees, and tourists hunt for a spot and are willing to walk 20 to 30 minutes to the Palias de Festival. For myself, I try to avoid using my car so as not to lose my street side spot. There have been times when residents of my building, including myself, have had to park a kilometre further up the street, which is a real pain if you have groceries or equipment to bring in.

Probably what is more interesting about the Film Festival is not so much what happens during the day, but what goes on by night. The festival tends to be a week and a half of hob nobbing in bars, clubs, and exclusive parties by film industry notables, promoters, writers, actors, gossip mongers, and vile paparazzi. Even I went out clubbing on Saturday to be part of that collective energy, only to finally sleep after about 27 hours awake.

Many parties and special events have live music that carry on late into the night. You can hear the music from private parties hosted at luxury homes carry through the night in and around the hills of Cannes. Wonderful fun if you are invited, but difficult if you’re trying to sleep and have to work the next day.

My impression though of the festival this year appears to be a little more peaceful as I’ve not heard the typical late night buzz of past years, possibly due to the changing weather, possibly the authorities taking a harder line. Either way, I’m happier for it.

Yesterday’s late evening walk with Baka was particularly notable I thought, partly because of the full moon that could be seen shining above the thick dense clouds that appeared to be threatening to come in from the sea, but because of the silence; no cars or scooters, no one on the balconies of apartments, no music or sounds from open windows. Just a lovely moment of calm.