In between stops at the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower , sightseers in Paris might note some unusual new landmark marking the metropolis ’s streets : bright red , open - air urinal . AsNPRreports , the so - called " Uritrottoir " ( a mashup of the Gallic word forurinalandpavement ) have been installed in reply to the metropolis ’s public urination job , and residents are n’t happy about it .
spend a penny openly on the streets has been an unofficial custom in the Gallic chapiter since thepre - Napoleonera . relieve oneself on metropolis holding is afineableoffense , but that has n’t stopped both tourer and locals from continuing to do it , submit bystanders to both the unwished-for sight and the footle olfactory property .
Now , Paris is taking an if - you - can’t - beat-‘em - join-‘em glide path to the issue . Uritrottoir have pop up near some of the city ’s most famed spots , such as Île Saint - Louis , overlooking the Seine , and Notre - Dame Cathedral . They ’re about the height and sizing of rubbish buttocks , with a receptacle that ’s meant to catch pee , not litter . Inside the Uritrottoir , stalk and other composting material absorb the urine and its odors , eventually fall in down into a compost that will fee the plants growing from the top of the corner . A conspicuous sign of the zodiac of a man peeing posted above the urinal lets passersby bonk exactly what the contraption is for .
The build up - in planter are meant to present the public urinals as something beautiful and usable , but many of the hoi polloi who have to look at them every day are n’t buying it . Fabienne Bonnat , a local artwork gallery proprietor , toldCBC Radio , " It ’s an open door to exhibitionism . Who wish to see that ? "
Another Île Saint - Louis drift owner , who did n’t care to be named , toldReuters , “ We ’re assure we have to admit this but this is absolutely unaccepted . It ’s destroying the bequest of the island . Ca n’t people behave ? "
The first three toilets were installed in March with a quaternary appearing in July . The city has plans to add together a fifth urinal , despite the brouhaha they ’ve already cause .
[ h / tNPR ]
