Loo with a view: Paris peeved at very public ‘eco-friendly’ urinals
Controversial move to combat public urination is proving unpopular with residents of the French city, but authorities insist it’s necessary
A new set of eco-friendly but completely exposed urinals deployed on the streets of Paris are provoking uproar from locals.
One of the bright red “urinoirs” installed on the Ile Saint-Louis, not far from Notre Dame cathedral and overlooking tourist boats passing on the Seine, has caused particular indignation.
Locals have written to the town hall to demand its removal and are planning a petition.
“There’s no need to put something so immodest and ugly in such a historic spot,” said 68-year-old Paola Pellizzari, owner of a Venetian art store. “It’s beside the most beautiful town house on the island, the Hotel de Lauzun, where [19th-century French poet Charles] Baudelaire lived.”
She feared the urinal, installed around 20 metres (22 yards) from a primary school, “incites exhibitionism”.
The designer of the “Uritrottoir” – a combination of the French words for urinal and pavement – said it offered an “eco solution to public peeing”. The device is essentially a box with an opening in the front and a floral display on top, containing straw which transforms into compost for use in parks and gardens.