Every weekend, Nicolas Norbert (20) and his friends from the Bondy suburb hit downtown Paris. One night, they will attend a one-off mega party, the next they visit one of its many nightclubs. "Everything is happening there," Norbert said.

Much to the amusement of his father, his current favourite is Le Gibus nightclub, near République. That is the exact same spot dad hung out 30 years ago. "Much remains the same in Paris," he offered.

The answer to the question if Paris is still bustling today depends on who you talk to. Eric Labbé, who organises dance parties and owns the popular music store, slash sound lab My Electro Kitchen, believes the party days in the French capital are over. "Paris is expensive and compact, the music scene is suffering from the economic problems and the dwindling tolerance of residents."

Labbé wrote a petition last year to vent Paris is fast becoming "the European capital of sleep", as revellers turn to parties in Berlin, London and Barcelona. The petition Quand la nuit meurt en silence (When the night dies in silence) was signed by almost 15,000 people and caught the attention of foreign media.

Paris' party zones are for from dead

Gérard Simonet, a resident of Le Marais, one of the most popular party districts, couldn't disagree more. "Paris is visited by 29 million people a year, more than any other place in the world. The city has never been this busy," he exclaimed. He is very unhappy about this. When he moved to Le Marais 21 years ago, the streets were quiet about half the week. "Now every night the streets here are as crowded at 4 am as they are during the day."

Ten years ago, Simonet (70) founded an anti-noise group dubbed Vivre Le Marais. Last week his and other residents' associations set up a Paris wide movement, Vivre Paris, to fight their battle with nightlife entrepreneurs. Simonet is "shocked" that a "campaign about dying nightlife" is generating so much response. "It is a lobby from a thriving industry that wants to expand its territory," he said.

A random tour of the city shows Paris' party zones are for from dead. People are lined up in front of clubs way past midnight, terraces with patio heaters are packed well into the small hours of the night and closing hours have recently been relaxed: some establishments are allowed to stay open until 7 am again.

Where is the party at? Almost every arrondisement has areas with clubs and other places where people dance: 1st, 2nd: around the old stock exchange, La Bourse, weathered old Rex Club still stands, but Le Triptyque closed after going bankrupt. Bus Palladium (9th) offers an alternative. 3rd, 4th: it happens in and around Le Marais. Les Bains has been resurrected, Le Tango and Le Troisième Lieu are just a few of the many options. 11th and 20th: the Republique-Bastille area is a stretch from the popular Belleville. En route, depending on your taste, Favela Chic, Zero Zero, Pop In, or La Fleche d'Or, La Bellevilloise and La Maroquinerie could be suitable. 7th: the left bank is more quiet, if you don't get stuck on the Péniche Concorde Atlantique boat to the Ibiza of Paris around Montparnasse (Mix Club).

There is plenty of variety to choose from. The renovated 'rock hall' La Flêche d’Or has been filling up since it reopened recently. Showcase, a club under the Pont Alexandre III bridge over the Seine, is a huge success, at least financially; the place is mostly frequented by tourists. Overall, Paris nightlife seems to be thriving as an industry, but losing more and more of its magic.

'The night belongs to all of us'

The municipality looked into the matter recently. "The nighttime economy is crucial", two reports ordered by the local government stated. Every night, 225,000 people, about 14 percent of the Paris labour force, work at night. Tourism, after soaring for years, slumped last year. But Parisians themselves also like to party: 4 out of 10 go out at least once a week, far more than the 20 percent of those interviewed who said they never do.

The municipality thinks Paris lags behind other cities, namely Berlin, Barcelona and London, because it doesn't promote itself enough. To change that, it launched a special website with descriptions of 365 hot spots, Parisnightlife.fr.

Will that give Paris its groove back? Ian Brossat, the president of the communist party in the local council, doesn't think so. "The amount of adverse reactions you get when you try to boost nightlife is unbelievable," he said. After Labbé's petition, the politician offered to organise a 'general assembly for the night', a large meeting of several levels of local government and business interests, next summer. His blog posting about it was bombarded with such angry reactions he felt compiled to write a posting stating he too likes to sleep. "I am not on the side of party animals or late-night revellers. The night belongs to all of us," he defended himself.

Noise mediators

Over the phone, Brossat explained the tolerance for nightlife has waned. "Opening a new club is all but impossible. Residents mobilise as soon as they hear about a plan. Complaining neighbours can force a club to close for months. Mayors of all arrondissements promise to make Paris into a village. Cut it out, Paris is a city! Noise and crowds are part of it."

City records show hundreds of establishments were temporarily closed in 2009 after noise complaints. The recent smoking ban in clubs, bars and restaurants has made the problems worse, as people now stand in the street to get their nicotine fix, Eric Labbé admitted. "The main problem in Paris is the lack of space." He has suggested the authorities appoint noise mediators to get the revellers and the residents to live together.

"Noise pollution is prohibited by law," Gérard Simonet countered. "Tolerance has not dwindled, the noise has increased." He is especially disturbed by the sound of techno music. "It is like a leaking tap in the bathroom, a thousand times louder. Pdrbum prdbum pdrbum. It's like Chinese torture: the repetition is enough to make a man go crazy."