'This is completely unacceptable': in Paris, the experiment with urinals on the street drew a barrage of criticism

Parisians did not appreciate the initiative of local authorities to install open red urinals throughout the city.

Claims of discrimination against women were added to the aesthetic claims, saying that installed urinals are suitable only for men.

The urinal looks like a large planter box with a hole in the front, and is supposed to be eco-friendly as it is filled with hay inside to absorb odors and be composted for later use in city parks.

Authorities insist that these urban sanitary and hygienic devices are necessary and are designed to streamline the administration of small needs on the street.

These open, that is, not fenced walls, urban sanitary facilities are designed to streamline the administration of small needs on the street. It is believed that after seeing such a urinal, a man is more willing to approach him than to the nearest tree.

Parisians strongly opposed this innovation and urge the city authorities to remove them. The city is already preparing a petition.

The urinal installed near Notre Dame Cathedral, on the historical island of Saint-Louis, where exquisite mansions of the 17th-18th centuries are located, was especially hit. and prestigious hotels.

In addition, this particular urinal is clearly visible by tourist pleasure boats sailing past along the Seine.

What would Baudelaire say?

“There is absolutely no need to put such an unattractive and obscene thing in such a well-known place,” Paola Pellizzari, owner of a nearby Venetian art salon, told Reuters. “There are some of the most beautiful houses in Paris nearby... the mansion and the Lauzen Hotel, where Baudelaire lived.”

Some expressed fears that there would be more exhibitionists in the city, especially considering that an elementary school is located in 20 meters from the urinal on the island of Saint-Louis.

“They're just disgusting. We were told that we had to put up with them, but this is completely unacceptable. “Can’t people just behave normally?” said another Parisian, a 50-year-old art gallery owner.

“Sexist plan in action”?

District manager Ariel Weil insists on the need for urinals.

“If we do nothing, then men will just pee on the street. But if it really annoys people that much, then we will find [the urinals] somewhere else,” he told Reuters.

Women activists did not fail to point out the discriminatory nature of new urinals.

“Urinals for men, great! What should we women do? Should I put some trays? Sexist endeavors are not attractive,” one tweeted.

“This is a sexist plan in action: men cannot control themselves, so the whole society must adapt to this,” commented Gwendoline Quapo, a member of the feminist organization Femmes Solidaires.