Hanging laundry is banned in France, the mayor says, "This isn't Naples." Councilor Puca responds, "We feel sorry for you..."

A minor "diplomatic crisis" has erupted over laundry lines between Naples and the French town of Thizy-les-Bourgs. The tit-for-tat was sparked by an order issued by Mayor Rémi Berthoux, which prohibits hanging laundry outside windows, with the stated aim of preserving the environment.

What's most controversial, however, is the reasoning chosen by the French mayor, who accompanied the ban with a phrase destined to go viral: "No, we're not in Naples!"

The outburst didn't go unnoticed at Palazzo Cavalcanti. The City of Naples's Image Councilor, Carlo Puca, decided to respond directly on social media, with a humorous yet clear message.

"Dear Mayor Berthoux, you're right: in Thizy-les-Bourgs, you're not in Naples. And I tell you this with sincere regret, because you're missing out on a lot," Puca wrote. The councilor acknowledged the legitimacy of the decision regarding urban decorum, but disputed the reference to Naples as a negative example.

"We understand the desire for urban decorum, of course," he added, "and every administrator has the right to regulate their own territory. But to justify a ban, it wasn't necessary to use Naples as a negative comparison, as a synonym for what 'shouldn't be.'"

According to Puca, the French mayor's comment ends up reducing Naples to a stereotype. "It's a facile joke, which trivializes a complex city, reducing it to a folkloristic postcard or, worse, a counterexample," the councilor wrote.

Then the reply becomes more proud and assertive: "Naples is not a label to brandish to mark distances. It is a metropolis with over two millennia of history, art, music, cuisine, philosophy, and yes, even sheets hanging out to dry in the sun." And precisely on the topic that sparked the controversy comes the final thrust: "Things that, among other things, dry very well and at zero environmental cost."