India, Feb. 10 -- In a recent incident underscoring France's stringent public noise regulations, a man identified as David was fined over $200 (over Rs.16,640) for using his cell phone's speaker function in a train station in Nantes. David was conversing with his sister on speakerphone when an official from France's state-owned rail company, SNCF, approached him, reported the New York Post.

"An SNCF security person told me that if I didn't turn off my loudspeaker, I was going to be fined €150," David recounted to BFMTV. Initially perceiving the warning as a joke, he was taken aback when the official proceeded to issue the fine. "I think the person was offended. She took out her notebook and fined me," he added.

The fine, originall...